Blindfolded
by Bobapearl
Summary: As if President Lory's assignment isn't hard enough, he just has to go and kick it up a notch as he places Kyoko in her most awkward position ever. The problem? She can't seem to complete it without some help...
1. The Notes that Started it All

HI EVERYONE! It's been quite a while since I wrote a fanfic, but ideas have constantly been flowing through my mind. And here's a new one that I hope you all will like! But I want to warn you that my updates won't be as quick as they used to be. With college and studying, my time is a little scrunched, but nonetheless, I will try my best. I really hope you guys will enjoy this one because I have quite a few ideas lined up for it. Thanks and please Review! :D

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat or any of its characters.**

* * *

Quietly whistling a simple tune, Mogami Kyoko happily made her way through the LME building, swinging her arms back and forth as she walked towards the familiar locker room. In higher spirits than normal—with no specific reason as to why—she opened the door to the changing room with a smile and stood in front of her cabinet, twisting the combo lock with her slender hand.

On normal days, she would have just placed her items inside the locker and be on her way to complete her regular (and usually tiresome) LoveMe tasks, but today something unusual happened. An odd item had suddenly caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. Kyoko scratched her head in confusion as she looked at the white piece of paper taped to the inside of her locker, just as she was about to change into her pink uniform. Slowly, she extended a hand and ripped the sheet off the metal door, turning the paper around to look at the word scribbled on the back.

Kyoko's eyes widen in surprise as she stared at the one simple word written in curly cursive as if it was written by a scribe. Twisting the paper this way and that, she tried to find a small note that would explain the meaning of this, but there was nothing to be found.

Suddenly, before she could give it another thought, the door to the locker room swung open and a natural smile crept onto Kyoko's face as she looked into the familiar countenance of her irritable best friend, Kotonami Kanae, who looked a little more disgruntled than she normally did.

"Stupid people. Can't they tell when a light is red or green? They could have almost run me over!" she said with clenched teeth.

"Good morning, Moko-san," Kyoko said cheerfully as she gave her a bright beaming smile.

"Thinking they're all cool with their fancy cars. Stupid boys," Kanae mumbled as she walked to the locker beside Kyoko and started to turn the combination. "I hate men."

Kyoko laughed and waved her hand in front of Kanae's face. "GOOD MORNING, MOKO-SAN!"

And for the first time that morning, Kanae turned her attention to her friendly co-worker and raised an eyebrow. "I heard you the first time."

"Well, you didn't respond," Kyoko said indignantly with a slight pout.

Kanae didn't answer as she swung her locker door open and hung her purse on the silver hook. But suddenly, her dark eyes trailed to the door of her locker and she found a note taped upon it as well. Narrowing her eyes, she quickly ripped off the paper and flipped it the right-side up to read the word on the back.

"What's this?"

Kyoko closed her locker in excitement as she exclaimed, "You got one too!"

"Got what too?"

She held up the note and waved it in front of Kanae's face. "What does yours say?"

"Speech…yours?"

"Sight," Kyoko replied simply as she looked down at her note again with furrowed eyebrows. "What do you think this means?"

And right on cue, Amimiya Chiori, their newest and third LoveMe member of the group, walked through and was just about to close the door behind her when Kyoko rushed at her in eagerness and cried at the same time, "OPEN YOUR LOCKER!"

Jumping nearly ten feet into the air in surprise, Chiori pressed her back against the wall and exclaimed, "WHY?"

"Just do it!" Kyoko said as she pulled Chiori to her locker.

Confused and slightly jostled, Chiori did as she was told and quickly opened her locker as Kyoko eagerly stood behind her with Kanae not too far behind.

Gesturing to the interior of her locker, she said in a stern voice, "What's the big deal? There's nothing in—"

But before she could get the last word out, Kyoko and Kanae both raised a hand with wide eyes and pointed at the same, familiar note taped upon the door.

Chiori turned her head to the side with a puzzled expression and tugged the paper off the door. Turning the sheet around, she read in a confused voice, "Auditory? What is this?"

Kyoko and Kanae showed their notes to her as well as they both shook their head. "No idea," they replied simultaneously.

Racking their brains, all three of the girls held out the pieces of paper and placed them together, forming a tiny little circle. They stood there for a while in silence as each of them tried to come up with a fathomable explanation for the note. But just when Kanae was going to say that they should forget all about it, a small knock came upon the door.

After exchanging the same surprised look with each other, Kyoko walked towards the door and opened it. As soon as she saw the familiar shadow, she automatically bent her head in a low bow as she cried, "President Lory sir!"

The president laughed and waved a hand at her stance. "Now, now Mogami-kun, there's no need for so much formality. And hello there girls," he added with a smile as he greeted the other two while sitting on the back of his large camel.

Chiori and Kanae stood at each side of Kyoko and replied reluctantly, "Good…morning…sir," as their eyes trailed up and down the large animal that seemed to be highly bored walking down the halls of LME while it was chewing on some sort of brown gum in its mouth.

Although they were quite used to the president's flamboyant antics, it never ceased to surprise them just how far he would take it to make a statement.

Then from out of the blue, his eyes quickly trailed down to their hands where he noticed each of them holding a small, white piece of paper. He smiled widely. "I see you got the letters. That's good. After you get changed, come up to my office. I'll explain everything about the notes then," the president said with a suspicious grin.

And with one last wave, the president rode off on his camel, leaving all three girls dumbstruck as they watched him turn a corner, chuckling along the way.

Like a switch, all three girls quickly got changed and threw everything they had into their lockers, highly curious (and not to mention wary) as to what the president wanted them to do this time. Running at top speed, a blur of hot pink rushed through the crowded lobby, causing a lot of people to think that some odd wind was blowing through the company. When they finally reached the highest floor of the building, all three girls knocked on his large double oak doors with a painful stitch throbbing at their sides.

In an instant, his assistant automatically opened the door and silently gestured them to come in, where they found the president sitting in his throne-like seat with his legs crossed. He smiled warmly and motioned his head to the large plushy red couch so that they will take a seat. Kyoko sat in the middle as Kanae took her place on the right and Chiori on the left.

Leaning forward, he asked, "Do you each have the paper?"

All three girls nodded and retrieved the note from the pocket of their pink, janitorial uniform.

"Good, because those words will help you to complete the next task I am assigning to each of you. But to start off, I want you to tell me what you think those three words represent."

"Our senses," Chiori replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "Or at least some of them."

President Lory nodded as Kyoko and Kanae stared at Chiori in surprise. "Exactly, three of the five senses that help us to perceive the world around us. Now Mogami-kun, which one do you have?"

"Sight."

"And Kotonami-kun?"

"I have speech," she answered with furrowed eyebrows.

"Amimaya-kun?"

"Auditory for me," she replied as she looked down at the note in her hands.

"Good. Now that each of you are assigned a different sensory, your tasks will also differ appropriately."

"But what is our task, sir?" Kyoko asked politely. "What does sight, speech, and auditory have anything to do with acting?"

The president laughed and shook his head. "It has everything to do with acting. Every good actor needs to speak eloquently, connect with the audience and the cast through his eyes, and listen to his surroundings in order to know his cues. Wouldn't you agree?"

All three girls nodded slowly, not exactly sure where he was going with this speech.

"Lacking any of these qualities will make it difficult, both in the acting world and the real world. And we are all aware that sometimes things aren't always perfect and never go the way we plan them to. So, with that in mind, here will be your next task."

President Lory beckoned for his assistant once more who quietly walked over and carried two items in his hands. He handed two small ear plugs to Chiori and a black blindfold to Kyoko. Kanae narrowed her eyes as she tried to decipher the meaning behind these odd items.

And feeling as if a light bulb suddenly went off in her head, she turned her head to the president who met her surprised gaze with an amused one. "Yes Kotonami-kun?"

"You can't be serious."

"What do you mean?" he asked with an innocent-like smile.

"You want us to—_lose_ our senses?" she asked incredulously.

Immediately, the other two whipped their head around as the president chuckled heartily. "Precisely that."

Their mouths dropped to the floor.

"For the next 24-hours, I want each of you to act as if you can't hear—"

He gestured to a disbelieving Chiori.

"As if you can't see—"

The president pointed to Kyoko.

"And as if you can't speak," he finished as he motioned to Kanae.

President Lory smiled widely and clapped his hands together.

"So, what do you think?"

All three girls remained frozen in their seat, stunned into absolute silence as they screamed within their head:

"_YOU WANT US TO WHAT?"_


	2. Goodbye to Our Precious Senses

Greetings everyone! So, I was really happy with all the reviews and glad that you think this idea is creative. I wrote the second chapter quicker than I thought, so that makes me really excited. Hehe, I hope you all enjoy this chapter as well because I had some fun writing it. You'll see what I mean in a minute or two. Please Review! :P

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat or any of its characters.**

* * *

The girls had no idea what to think. They stared at the president with blatant disbelief in their eyes, but could not find the voice to say anything. And as they sat there, wallowing in their shock, all the girls couldn't help but think that the longer they were a part of LME, the crazier their tasks were going to get and this one definitely took the cake.

Kanae was the first to respond as she shook her head from side to side. She opened her mouth to say something, but could only splutter incoherent noises as she tried to make sense of this absurd assignment.

President Lory chuckled and said in a teasing voice, "You don't have to start just yet, Kotonami-kun. I can see you're excited, but—"

"Excited?" Chiori asked incredulously as she ran a hand through her hair, looking down at the tiny earplugs in her other hand. "Believe me sir. I don't think any of us are excited about this."

He frowned and shook his head, clearly disappointed in their reactions. In a stern voice, with all teasing gone, he said, "As professionals, you have to be prepared to do the unimaginable. Right?"

"Yes, but—" Chiori began.

"AND you have to do whatever that comes your way, right?" the president interrupted in a louder voice.

"Still, there has to be a limit to—" Kanae said.

"Is this really that difficult?" President Lory asked sharply over Kanae's comment. "That impossible to accomplish?"

Chiori and Kanae spluttered absolute nonsense which clearly emphasized their distress, but seeing that the president wasn't convinced, they turned to Kyoko and cried, "SAY SOMETHING!"

Kyoko, who had remained silent during the whole fiasco, bit on her bottom lip and said in a barely audible murmur, "It's our job you guys. We have to."

"WHAT?" the other girls asked loudly in frustration. "Are you serious?"

Kyoko sighed. "It's not like the president is going to withdraw the task, just because we oppose it."

And instinctively, she raised her head to meet his stern gaze and saw him shake his head from side to side, proving her point that their fighting back was just a waste of time.

"So might as well get it over with," Kyoko continued with a deep exhale as she turned her attention back down to the cloth in her hands. "It's only 24-hours anyway. How hard can it be?"

Chiori and Kanae didn't know how to reply. A part of them wanted to retort back, but another part of them understood that their efforts were futile. An assignment was an assignment and no matter how ridiculous it was, the LoveMe girls could never refuse, even if they desperately wanted to.

And seeing that their resolve was diminishing, President Lory smiled widely, reverting back to his optimistic ways, and said, "Now that that's settled, let's get into the nitty gritty stuff to help you complete this task."

Reaching into the inner pocket of his Arabic ensemble, he pulled out a tiny golden watch that hung from a slim chain. He flipped the circular trinket open and said, "Right now, it is 9:17. At precisely 9:20, you will start and continue as you are until 9:20 of tomorrow morning. Is that clear?"

All three girls nodded solemnly.

"Second, by no means are you allowed to break character throughout the day. That means, Amimaya-kun, you may not take off your earplugs. Mogami-kun, you may not remove the blindfold. And Kotonami-kun, you may not speak."

Once again, they all nodded.

"Finally, I do understand that this task is difficult, but by no means did I imply that you had to do this alone."

At the prospect of seeing a light at the end of a very dark tunnel, Kanae raised her head and asked eagerly, "You mean, we can help each other out?"

President Lory chuckled. "Of course you can. In fact, it's the sole purpose of this assignment in the first place."

Chiori raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean?" she inquired with her head tilted to the side.

"Oh you'll see," he answered with a wave of his hand, as if he was brushing her question away into the nonexistent wind.

Then he suddenly looked down at the ticking clock and smiled. "Alright girls, one minute. Any last questions before we start? Especially you Kotonami-kun, considering the circumstances." And at this he laughed so heartily that Kanae gave him the darkest glare she could muster.

Chiori shook her head in response to his question as she prepared to put in her earplugs while Kyoko placed each end of the blindfold into her hands, ready to wrap it around her eyes.

"Splendid. Now, on the count of three."

The girls prepared themselves as Kanae let out one final sigh and muttered, "I can't believe we're doing this."

"One!"

"Speech? Really? It had to be speech?"

"Two!"

"Somebody please shoot me now."

"Three!"

And in an instant, Kanae's mouth closed shut as if her voice was suddenly sucked right out of her. Chiori, on the other hand, became completely deaf as she stared into the irritable face of Kanae. It was obvious that the loss of hearing had thrown her off because she kept twisting her head this way in that, trying her very best to hear noise—or any sound for that matter.

But while Kanae and Chiori tried to get used to their new "characters," Kyoko had entered her own little world where black was the dominant color. She couldn't see a thing at all and it was the oddest sensation she ever felt in her life because it was like all of her other senses were heightened to an extraordinary degree. So even though her vision was obscured by darkness, she could clearly tell where Chiori was or how Kanae had stood up in annoyance without actually seeing her at all.

"Okay," President Lory began with a chuckle, "the task has finally commenced. You may leave this office and go about your duties."

Kanae crossed her arms and dramatically swept out of the room as Chiori asked deafeningly, "CAN WE LEAVE NOW?"

Kyoko giggled and turned her head to the sound. But before she could answer, the president replied just as loudly, "YES!"

"WHAT?" she cried back.

Kyoko laughed louder this time and reached out a hand to grab Chiori's. And instinctively knowing where the door was, she pointed to the exit and heard Chiori's intake of breath, signaling her comprehension of what Kyoko meant.

"THANKS!" she yelled as she stood up and walked out of the office.

President Lory sighed heavily and ran a hand through his dark hair.

Smiling at his wariness, Kyoko said in a matter-of-fact voice, "You're the one who assigned this."

He laughed and replied, "You're absolutely right."

Then with one last grin which she hoped was in his direction, Kyoko quietly removed herself from the plushy couch and was about to try to find her way towards the door when the president suddenly called her back.

"Yes sir?" she asked curiously.

"Don't leave yet. I need to talk to you about something."

Puzzled, Kyoko took a few steps back to what she thought was the couch, but instead she stubbed her toe on foot of the coffee table and nearly bounced back from pain until she felt a firm grip on her shoulder.

"Are you alright?" the president asked, with a slight amusing tone hidden underneath.

Although her foot throbbed painfully, she shook her head and regained her balance as she replied, "I'm fine. Thank you sir."

He chuckled and said, "This is exactly why I need to talk to you."

Kyoko turned her head to the sound of his voice.

"If you recall from earlier," he said as he released Kyoko's shoulder, "I said that you can help each other, right?"

She nodded.

"Well, unfortunately Mogami-kun, you're going to have to be the odd person out this time. You see, Kotonami-kun and Amimaya-kun can rely on one another because their senses go hand in hand. In a way, they are two halves of a whole. You, on the other hand, are separate from them."

Kyoko stood speechless.

"But considering what just happened, there is no way I can let you wander off on your own without someone watching over you. I don't even want to imagine what might happen to you."

"So what are you suggesting sir?" Kyoko asked, slightly irked by his idea that she couldn't take care of herself. If there was anyone in this world who could make it out there on their own, it would be Kyoko, but it seemed that President Lory didn't buy it.

"You're going to have a partner of your own, Mogami-kun," he said, "different from the other two."

Now her curiosity was really peaked. "Who?"

President Lory chuckled deeply. "Oh you'll see. Or not..."

And suddenly, before she could even prepare herself for it, Kyoko heard his footsteps quietly fading away. "Sir?" she asked quickly. "Where are you going?"

But there was no response. In fact, it seemed that she was completely alone. She couldn't hear a thing. And in an instant, a blood-curling fear started to rise in her throat when she realized she was abandoned. Frantically feeling her way around the office that appeared to be expanding in size by the second, Kyoko called out to the desolate room. But not a single voice answered in response besides her own voice that slightly echoed around her.

Eventually, she managed to find her way back to the couch again and realized that she was standing right behind it as she placed both her hands on the headrest. Knowing that the door faced the back of the couch, she turned her body around and tentatively made her way towards what she hoped was the exit.

Then, from out of the blue, Kyoko came to a screeching dead stop when she heard the most frightening noise in her life.

_The front door slamming shut._

If fear was what she felt earlier, it was blatant horror by now. Her palms started to get sweaty and she could feel her heart beating sporadically out of her chest. Gulping, she asked in a shaky voice, "Who's there?"

No response.

Her knees began to tremble and her breathing was starting to become more and more ragged as she strained to hear what was going on.

But when she opened her mouth to ask another question, she finally heard it.

_Footsteps._

And even though it was completely irrational, Kyoko's fear from earlier had vanished into thin air because she was now one hundred percent sure that someone was in the room with her. After all, she was more scared of non-physical things than the physical so knowing that a person was in the room actually made her feel more secure than frightened. Walking towards the sound with a new found ferocity, Kyoko threatened, "I'm warning you. Surprising me will _not _be in your best interest."

And to Kyoko's utter disbelief, she heard a chuckle.

Primed for self defense, she clenched her hands into tight fists and was ready for any sound of movement. Using her ultra sense of hearing, Kyoko tried to discern where the stranger was, but he remained absolutely silent. She knew for a fact that it was a male since the voice was just too deep to belong to a female.

Deciding to risk the chance, Kyoko was going to make a break for it towards the door, but before she could even take a single step, something moved to the left of her. And without really thinking about it, Kyoko whipped out an arm toward what she believed was the stranger's face.

But in one swift movement that completely caught her off guard, the perpetrator caught her slender wrist and twisted her around so that he held both of her hands behind her back. Squirming, Kyoko was going to fight back until she heard a gentle, familiar voice murmur in her ear,

"Is that really any way to treat your partner, Mogami-san?"

Kyoko's heart stopped dead in her chest.


	3. Two by Two

HI EVERYONE! It makes me so happy that everyone is reading and reviewing my story. I love all your comments and your curiosity as well. I hope I don't fail you guys in meeting your expectations. Thanks again for all the support and I truly hope you enjoy this one! Please Review.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat or any of its characters.**

* * *

"KANAE!"

Irritated and very frustrated, the young actress turned her body around and saw Chiori running after her with a flustered expression on her face. Coming to a stop, Kanae watched Chiori lean over on her knees and try to regain her breath as she stood panting in front of her.

"YOU'RE—REALLY—FAST!"

Kanae cringed. Chiori's voice was echoing all the way down the hall and everyone turned their heads around to stare at the two girls in pink janitorial uniforms with a look of curiosity. Afraid that they were getting more publicity than desired, Kanae glared at Chiori and placed a finger to her lips.

Chiori raised an eyebrow and bellowed, "I KNOW YOU CAN'T TALK!"

Angry now, Kanae stomped her foot on the floor and placed a mouth over Chiori's as more people started to pay attention to them. She could even see a couple of on-lookers laugh at their antics.

Shaking free of Kanae's hand, Chiori stepped back and cried, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Hating President Lory more than ever for this assignment, Kanae grabbed Chiori's hand and dragged her all the way into the elevator and quickly hit the button for the third floor as the sounds of laughter increased behind them. Once the door slid shut, Kanae let out a silent sigh and ran her hand through her hair.

Confused, Chiori asked, "WHERE ARE WE GOING?"

Kanae narrowed her eyes and glared at Chiori, who stared back with wide eyes. The ringing in her ears was starting to give her a very big headache, which meant Kanae's mood was getting worse by the minute.

"WHAT?" Chiori yelled curiously as she looked at her irritated face.

Deciding to try one more time, Kanae laid out her hand in a flat position facing down and lowered it to the floor. Chiori watched the movement and said, "YES I KNOW, THE ELEVATOR IS MOVING DOWN!"

Really angry now, Kanae roughly grabbed Chiori's hand and pointed to her throat.

"MY VOICE?"

Kanae nodded angrily and did the same motion as she did earlier. Thankfully, Chiori finally caught on this time and let out a laugh. "OH, YOU WANT ME TO LOWER MY VOICE!"

Kanae clenched her teeth and dug her nails into Chiori's hand.

"OUCH! I mean," she said with a sheepish smile, "ouch…"

Kanae shook her head from side to side in annoyance as the doors of the elevator slowly slid open. After she released her firm grip of Chiori's hand, Kanae fluidly stepped out and was going to walk down the corridor when she realized that her friend was following her.

Kanae stopped and raised an eyebrow.

Chiori shrugged. "Don't you think we should stick together for the rest of the day?"

Puzzled, Kanae narrowed her eyes and leaned her head back.

"Well, I'm going to need your ears," Chiori said matter-of-factly, "and you're going to need my voice."

Kanae crossed her arms over her chest, but didn't disagree.

Chiori smiled. "It's going to be a long 24-hours if we do this alone, right?"

She rolled her eyes which made Chiori laugh. Kanae arched a perfect eyebrow.

"You didn't have to say anything for me to understand that," Chiori replied as she stood beside her, "I know that it's going to be a long day anyway."

And for the first time since they received their assignment, Kanae smiled and gave her a small nod. Then motioning her head down the hall, she continued along her way with Chiori walking alongside her.

"So where are we going?" Chiori asked as she swiveled her head around. It was so disorienting not being able to hear a single thing. She could only hear her voice that unfortunately sounded muffled even to her own ears.

Kanae didn't reply as she continued walking along. But just when Chiori was going to open her mouth to ask the question again, Kanae stopped in front of Sawara's office and pointed inside. She led Chiori in and walked toward his large desk, where the talent manager was sitting with piles of paper surrounding him.

"Kotonami-san! Thank you for coming," he said with a smile. But when his eyes met Chiori's, the smile widened as he said, "Amimaya-san! What brings you here?"

Chiori raised an eyebrow and asked, "What was that, Sawara-san?"

Obviously taken aback, he repeated in a confused voice, "I asked, what brings you here, Amimaya-san?"

Kanae shook her head irritably and pointed to Chiori's ear. As she turned her head to the side to reveal the ear plug, Sawara's face glowed with an understanding as he said amusedly, "President Lory, right?"

Chiori didn't answer his question but instead replied, "Kanae can't talk."

Sawara stared at her with wide eyes. "You're kidding!" he cried with a laugh.

This earned him a deathly stare from the long-haired actress which caused him to add hastily, "How unfortunate that is! Highly unfair, Kotonami-san! Highly unfair!"

Kanae frowned and rolled her eyes as she sat down in the seat across from him. Chiori followed suit and took the seat beside her.

Chuckling quietly to himself, he said, "Well, I guess this task is going to be slightly difficult for you then, Kotonami-san. I was going to ask you to call some people for me and ask them what day they plan on coming to LME for a tour. But seeing that you can't talk…"

Kanae's eyes bugged out as Chiori asked, "What's going on?"

With a vein popping out of her forehead at how her inability to talk was ruining her life, Kanae angrily pointed to the phone and made talking motions with her mouth as she stared at Chiori. Catching on quite quickly, her smile faltered as she said slowly, "Oh…"

Sawara frowned. "I need to get this done though. The president wants the answers by this afternoon and I have a meeting in 15 minutes."

Kanae leaned back in the chair and threw her arms in the air, signaling that this wasn't her fault and that she couldn't do anything about it.

Chiori, who only understood that a task had to be done, sat up straighter and said, "Kotonami-san and I can do whatever it is together. She can be the ears and I'll be the voice."

Sawara grinned as Kanae sat up straighter in surprise at Chiori's absurd suggestion. "That just might work," he replied as he took out a piece of paper and a pen. But when he saw Chiori's confused expression, he gave her a thumbs-up sign which caused her lips to curve into a smile, understanding that he thought her idea was great.

Writing out what she had to ask, Sawara handed the paper over to Chiori and said, "Then that's settled. Kotonami-san, you can write down what they say, and Chiori will do the asking."

Kanae's shoulders slumped, but she gave a quick curt nod nonetheless. And to think, she thought she was going to get a day off.

Sawara placed the black phone between them and stood up from his chair. "Thanks you two. This means a lot. Try to get this done by 12, alright?"

Kanae nodded once again as Chiori smiled, clearly showing that she didn't understand what he just told them, but knowing that he was leaving them alone to finish the assignment. But aware that Kanae understood what he said, he just clapped Chiori on the shoulder, not bothering to try to explain himself, and walked out of the office, leaving the two LME girls alone.

"So, what are we doing now?" Chiori asked.

Kanae didn't reply as she dialed in the first number on the list that was on Sawara's desk. Placing the phone to her ear, she waited for a response and as soon as someone said "Hello?" she handed the phone over to Chiori.

Smiling, Chiori nodded, and read that one line into the receiver as Kanae drummed her fingers on the desk, finishing their task together.

* * *

Kyoko couldn't believe it. Her whole body froze up like a statue, paralyzed with fear and dread. All she could focus on was the man standing behind her, holding her hands in such an intimate manner. She could even feel her lungs fail on her as she heard him say with laugh, "You have quite a good arm there, Mogami-san. And aim for that matter. Where did you learn how to react so quickly?"

Swallowing the heavy lump that sat right in the middle of her throat, Kyoko ignored his teasing question and said quietly, "Tsuruga-san?"

He chuckled. "Yes Mogami-san?"

Feeling as if her legs were going to give out on her, she shook her head from side to side and asked in a timid voice, "Are you really serious? _You're_ going to be my partner?"

Ren nodded, but remembering that she couldn't see, he replied, "Yes, for the whole day as a matter of fact."

As soon as those horrid words left his mouth, Kyoko lost it. Wanting to run to the president at that moment and to vehemently oppose these turn of events, she exclaimed, "NO! YOU CAN'T!"

"And why can't I?"

"Because!" Kyoko cried in exasperation, "This isn't your obligation! You shouldn't be forced to do this!"

Laughing, Ren released her hands and gently spun her around so that he could get a good look at her face. The black blindfold covered her eyes all the way down to the bridge of her slim nose, but her lips, which were curved into a frown, were left exposed.

"What makes you think I was forced?"

Kyoko faltered. "You volunteered?"

Ren smiled and replied, "What if I did?"

She glared at him while placing her hands on her hips. "Tsuruga-san, can you please answer my questions without a question?"

At this he laughed so sincerely that Kyoko couldn't help but naturally smile back in return.

"I'm sorry, Mogami-san. It's just very…_interesting_ to see you like this."

Kyoko grimaced. "I don't think it's very interesting."

Ren shook his head, but didn't offer a response. He couldn't tell Kyoko that unlike her, he truly found this assignment amusing. When the president informed him of the new task, Ren had to admit that he was quite excited. And the fact that he was to be her partner for the full 24-hours was nothing short of a plus.

Waving a hand in front of her face, he asked casually, "So you really can't see anything?"

"Not a thing," she replied with a sigh. "Just darkness."

And when Kyoko was going to take a step back, she tripped over her own feet and nearly fell flat on her face if it wasn't for Ren's quick reaction which caught her by the shoulders.

Feeling his touch, Kyoko instantly felt a flush color her cheeks as she said hastily, "I'm sorry Tsuruga-san!"

He chuckled deeply and said, "Don't worry, Mogami-san. It's what I'm here for."

With his deep laughter still ringing in her ears, Kyoko tentatively smiled and shook her head. "I just need to get used to this." And she desperately hoped that it would be soon so that she wouldn't have to rely on her mentor so much. It was becoming too humiliating!

Ren, on the other hand, wasn't as hopeful. In fact, he hoped that she never would get the hang of not seeing, that way he could always be there for her. But he knew that he couldn't actually say that, so Ren decided not to respond as he carefully steered her out of President Lory's office and closed the double oak doors behind him.

As soon as they stepped out, Kyoko twisted her head to the right and turned her attention upwards toward what she hoped was his face. Ren looked down at her with a smile. "Yes?"

"Why didn't you respond when I called out?" Kyoko inquired in a slightly accusatory voice. "And what's with the door slamming shut?"

Ren chuckled and instinctively pulled her body to his as they entered a crowded hall where many people were giving the pair very curious looks. Ren smiled politely in return while he made sure that Kyoko wasn't jostled around too much by the bustle of people pushing through. Unbeknownst to him however, his pupil instantly felt the closeness of their bodies and nearly felt her heart come to a dead stop as she realized that her face was to his chest. He kept a firm arm around her shoulders as he answered, "Like I said, it was interesting to see how you were going to act."

"That wasn't funny," she whispered softly, feeling her cheeks burn like fire.

"Well, you didn't seem too intimidated. And remind me the next time to never throw you a surprise party. I don't want to get on your bad side."

Clearly remembering the threat she said in the office, Kyoko placed her face in her hands as she moaned, "Oh my god…"

Ren laughed.

"I can't believe I said that," she mumbled guiltily.

"I could. And rest assured that I take your warning to heart."

Kyoko didn't reply as she allowed him to steer her through the company, not really paying attention to where they were going. She was too embarrassed to talk anymore. Because not only was she making her mentor take care of her for the whole day, but she nearly knocked his head off when he was trying to help her! This day kept getting better and better.

But just as Kyoko was going to apologize for her mistake, she heard a door slide open and the roaring of wheels on pavement. To Kyoko's surprise, she immediately sensed that they were suddenly standing outside.

"Tsuruga-san? What's going on?"

"We're leaving," he replied simply as he led her to his silver sports car.

He opened the door on the passenger side and was about to help her climb in until he realized that Kyoko stayed where she was.

"Leaving? What about work?" she asked in a worried voice. Kyoko never missed a day of work in her life and she wasn't going to start now.

Ren shook his head. "President Lory doesn't want you working while you're completing this task. Besides, technically you are working, just not in the company. So you can relax."

Kyoko bit on her bottom lip, unconvinced by his words. It didn't seem right to her at all leaving work so early in the morning.

Ren smiled and gently pushed her towards the car seat. "It's only one day, Mogami-san. Besides, it will be hard for you to do anything in this state anyway."

Kyoko had to admit that what he said was true. How was she going to help anyone if she couldn't see? If anything, she would probably do more harm than good. So with a deep exasperated sigh, she slowly climbed in and heard the car door softly slam shut behind her when she was situated in the seat.

Ren quickly got into the driver's seat and buckled her in before buckling his own seat belt. Kyoko blushed profusely when his fingers gently grazed her arm, making her realize more and more how they were coming to close contact with each other more often than usual.

"So," Kyoko said anxiously, wanting to say something to break the strange tension that she felt hovering above her head, "I guess it's going to be loads of fun trying to explain to the landlord and his wife why I'm wearing a blindfold."

She laughed nervously as she gripped her hands into tight fists.

Ren chuckled at her comment as he maneuvered the car into the busy traffic. "Oh, I don't think you have to worry about that too much, Mogami-san."

"Why do you say that?" Kyoko asked as she turned her head to his silky voice.

Ren looked at her curious expression out of the corner of his eye and smiled. "Because I'm not taking you home."

Kyoko froze. "Then where are you taking me?"

Ren smiled widely as he replied in a smooth voice, "My place."


	4. A Time for Food

Hi everyone! Thanks for all the reviews for chapter 3! It was really great and I had an awesome time reading them. So here is the fourth part of the story and sorry for taking a whole week to write it. Haha, but anyway, please read and review and I hope you all like it!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat or any of its characters.**

* * *

"YAY! WE FINISHED!" Chiori exclaimed as she stretched her arms upward, untying all the knots in her shoulders and yawning loudly. After taking a full two hours calling people for Sawara in his tight office, both girls were totally beat and in desperate need for a good, long break. All that teamwork really did a number on them. And since it was already 11:00, they decided to go down and grab a quick bite of lunch together.

"WE DID PRETTY GOOD KANAE!" Chiori said excitedly as she walked alongside her, swinging her arms back and forth.

And as they walked towards the café on the lower floor, Kanae narrowed her eyes at her friend who stared back in surprise. Kanae pointed to her own ears and then to Chiori's throat.

Chiori smiled guiltily. "Too loud again? Sorry."

Kanae just rolled her eyes and continued with her stroll as they entered the quaint little restaurant. Fortunately, the girls arrived before the regular big lunch break so they practically had the whole place to themselves.

Taking a seat next to the window, Chiori sat across from her friend and smiled widely.

Kanae raised an eyebrow in question.

"I just realized that this has been the longest time we've ever hung out with each other before."

Kanae shrugged and picked up the small menu on the table, refusing to meet Chiori's gleeful expression. Although she would never admit it, Kanae knew she was lucky that Chiori accompanied her all morning. If not, her day would have been significantly worse.

"You know," Chiori continued causally as she draped the white napkin over her lap, "I can't help but wonder how Kyoko is doing. What about you?"

Kanae glanced from over the menu and shook her head.

"Why not?"

Placing the menu down, Kanae shrugged her shoulders and motioned her hands, palms up, into the air, waving them back and forth.

Chiori giggled. "I'm guessing you think she can take care of herself?"

Kanae nodded and pointed at an item on the menu in front of Chiori. Looking down in curiosity, she slowly read out loud, "Fried rice with shrimp scampi."

Chiori raised an eyebrow. "I don't like shrimp though."

Giving her the _"Are you serious look?"_, Kanae pointed to herself and went through the motions of eating something. But once she did it for about three seconds, Kanae realized she must have looked like an idiot to the other customers so she stopped and dropped her hands immediately.

Chiori laughed and replied, "Oh for you! Got it. And I think I'll have…the salad with grilled chicken."

Kanae waved her delicate hand at Chiori and motioned her head to the waitress standing at the cash register. Then seeing that Chiori was confused, Kanae let out a silent breath and leaned back in the chair with her arms crossed. Smiling in somewhat a mischievous manner, she nodded her head at her friend, then to the waitress, and finally down at the menu on the table.

"Oh," Chiori said slowly, "I'm supposed to order."

Kanae nodded once more while rolling her eyes as the waitress began to walk over to the table. With a bright smile upon her face, the young lady said cheerfully, "Hello there. My name is Amy and I'll be your waiter for today. What can I get you two?"

Understanding her friend's slight nod of the head as a signal to start, Chiori replied, "I'll have the salad with grilled chicken and my friend will have the fried rice with shrimp scampi."

"Perfect. Can I get you guys anything to drink?"

Kanae pretended to hold a glass in her hand to sip something which caused Chiori to say, "Oh! And two glasses of iced tea please."

"Su-u-ure," the waitress replied uncertainly as she scribbled down the order and stared at Kanae out of the corner of her eye, who pretended not to notice. "Anything else?"

Kanae shook her head and all Chiori did was smile in return.

"Alright then, it'll be out soon," she answered skeptically. But while she was walking back to her station, she kept stealing curious glances over her shoulder at their table with a very puzzled look on her face as if she was trying to figure them out.

Chiori giggled. "I think she's unsure about us."

Kanae gritted her teeth together and glared at the table centerpiece, quite annoyed with all the staring. Even in Sawara's office, she could tell that people were watching them behind her back. It was incredibly hard to focus when she knew the whole room of people was staring at her like she was some kind of freak show.

"Do you not like it?" Chiori asked as she placed her elbows upon the table and laced her fingers together.

Kanae shrugged and leaned her chin onto her hand.

"If it makes you feel better, at least we're getting the publicity we wanted."

Kanae gave her a mocking thumbs-up sign and pretended to smile oh-so-happily. But to her surprise, Chiori understood Kanae's sarcasm and laughed. "Hey, it's better than nothing."

Kanae sincerely smiled that time and moved her shoulders up and down as their food was brought out. Once the waitress left them alone, Kanae quickly dug in and ate her rice while Chiori took a sip of tea. But while the girls were eating, a small group of teenagers walked by the café who stopped dead in their tracks when they spotted Chiori.

Shocked, all five girls quickly approached their table and said loudly, "You're Amimaya-san!"

Chiori looked up curiously at the small crowd in front of her that, to her, seemed to have appeared out of thin air just as she was about to put a piece of chicken in her mouth. Slightly taken aback, she said in a slow tone, "Hello…"

"Oh wow! We loved your latest drama! It's so good! We watch it like everyday!"

And when their eyes met Kanae's dark gaze, they smiled wider and said, "We've seen you on T.V before too!"

Bouncing on the balls of their feet, they asked with a wide smile, "Do you guys have any tips for a couple of newbies on how to get famous?"

Kanae raised an eyebrow. Here was another aggravating reason why this task was so stupid. If people kept asking long-winded questions like these, there was no way she could answer it, not to mention the fact that it was going to be impossible to mime it to Chiori. Then looking over at Chiori with a vain hope that she could somehow understand every word that came out of the young girl's mouth, Kanae waited for her friend to say something, but all she did was smile uneasily back in return.

Feeling uncomfortable from the awkward silence, the girl said slowly, "We didn't mean to intrude…"

But before Kanae could respond in any way, Chiori piped up and asked, "Who are you?"

Happy that they were finally getting some sort of response, the girl said, "We're students from the local high school. We want to apply for a job here at LME."

Kanae raised an eyebrow.

"There's an audition today," one of the other girls answered in response to Kanae's expression.

Still puzzled, she leaned her head to the side as another girl said, "It's for a small role in a soda commercial."

"Are you from the high school?" Chiori asked from out of the blue as she stared at their uniform.

Slightly confused now, the girls nodded and said, "Yeah…didn't we say that?"

Kanae stifled a giggle as Chiori said, "I know those uniforms. They're from the local high school, right?"

"What? Yes, we told—we just said that," the main girl replied with an arched eyebrow. "Are you okay?"

"So what are a couple of students like you doing here?" Chiori asked curiously. "Is there an audition or something?"

By now Kanae was practically dying from silent laughter. The look on the girls' face as Chiori was asking the most ridiculous questions was just too good. And even though Chiori was making herself look like a lunatic in front of them, Kanae had no idea how to help her. But deciding that it was getting late anyway, she waved her hand at Chiori who looked at her immediately.

Gesturing to her wristwatch, Chiori nodded and turned back to the girls with a smile, "Sorry we can't talk anymore, but we have to get going."

"Right…" they replied slowly.

And as Kanae and Chiori both stood up to leave, the girls turned to Kanae and asked under their breath, "Is Amimaya-san okay?"

Kanae silently snickered as Chiori turned the other direction to pick up the napkin she dropped, giving them her back. Then in one quick movement that Chiori didn't catch, Kanae made spinning circles with her finger next to her ear. The girls' eyes widen in surprise as they stared at the other actress who turned back with a wide smile.

Taking a step back, the girls smiled uneasily in response and bowed politely, not daring to remove their eyes from Chiori's very happy facial expression.

"Goodbye!" she said gleefully as she made her way out of the café.

Kanae gave one half-hearted wave to the dumbstruck girls and walked out with a mischievous smile upon her lips. Once they finally reached the elevator and stepped inside, Chiori turned to her and asked, "What are you so happy about?"

Stifling a giggle, Kanae quickly shook her head and kept her eyes on the buttons as Chiori raised an eyebrow in confusion. And knowing full well that she was going to have to make it up to Chiori eventually, Kanae decided to just enjoy the joke for now before she had to go and do major damage control later.

* * *

Kyoko's heart stopped dead in her chest. Nearly choking on her words, she croaked, "Your—_place_?"

Ren smiled and replied, "That's right. Or did you forget that I lived on my own?"

Not seeing the amusement in this situation at all, she sat up straighter in the car seat and cried, "This is going too far, Tsuruga-san! I don't think this is what President Lory intended!"

Quite hurt by the tone of her voice, Ren eyes slightly narrowed as he said quietly, "Do you not trust me?"

Completely taken aback by his question, Kyoko lowered her voice and said, "What makes you say that?"

With hard eyes, Ren shook his head. "You must think that I'm incapable of doing this, right?"

Ren had no idea why he felt so upset, but the fact that she opposed being around him so much was fairly hard on his ego. Even though he knew how she felt about him (and of course, his feelings for her), he always assumed that she at least enjoyed his company if anything, but from the sound of her voice it seemed that she would much rather be on her own than around him. And no matter how he tried to dissuade himself, it just didn't seem to work.

Even though she was unable to see his face, Kyoko could sense the drastic change in mood. So shaking her head side to side, she replied in earnest, "That's not what I meant at all, Tsuruga-san! It's just…"

"Yes?"

Kyoko bit on her bottom lip. This situation was just getting too out of hand. It was already hard for her to accept the fact that her mentor was going to have to help her during the day, but now he has to house her too? When did this suddenly become a 24-hour babysitting job? Kyoko couldn't get over the fact how unfair this assignment was for him. After all, this was her task and she had no intention whatsoever of dragging her mentor down into it.

So with a new resolve coursing through her veins, she said firmly, "I will not impose on you like this, Tsuruga-san. Not only is it improper, but highly unfair to ask so much from you."

"Mogami-san, why are you under the impression that I don't want any part in this? Is that the feeling I'm giving off? If so, I'm sincerely sorry because I do want to help you."

Kyoko had no response for that. The sound of his voice was so genuine that she could actually feel her body shake with gratitude. He truly did want to do this. He wasn't being forced at all. And even though it was hard for her to accept help, she couldn't possibly find the will to deny him when he had such good intentions. After all, he was her mentor and who was she to say he couldn't help her when it was obvious that he wanted to? So with a small smile at the corner of her lips, Kyoko nodded and turned her face down to her lap.

"Thank you, Tsuruga-san," she murmured softly.

Ren pulled his eyes away from the road for a split second and stared at the top of her head with wide eyes. He couldn't believe it. She actually accepted his aid without a fight—not to mention the fact that she answered him in such a sweet voice that nearly tore his heart in two. So with a heart that was beating out of his chest, Ren swallowed quietly and replied, "You're welcome."

And without another word that was exchanged between the both of them, Ren drove in silence down the road, thinking it would probably be best not to say anything. His stomach was already tied up in knots and he was worried about what might come out of his mouth if he suddenly decided to talk.

But after a good fifteen minute drive, he finally pulled into the parking lot in front of his condo and shut off the engine. Softly clearing his throat, Ren said, "We're here, Mogami-san."

"Oh!" she replied in surprise as she raised her head to his voice, "That was quick."

Ren laughed gently as he leaned over to unbuckle her seat belt, but as soon as he reached over her lap he could feel his body instantly react to her and tried with every fiber of his being not to reveal the whirlpool of feelings he felt right there and then. And once he helped her out of the car—with a sporadic heartbeat nonetheless—Ren placed a tentative arm around Kyoko's shoulder and led her up the stairs. Kyoko remained quiet throughout the whole time, not daring to utter a single sound out of nervousness.

But once Kyoko heard the familiar click of an unlocked door, she asked, "We're here?"

Ren chuckled. "Yup."

And as soon as Kyoko stepped inside, Ren gently closed the front door behind him, shutting off the outside world. But just as he was about to ask her if she wanted anything to eat, Kyoko turned around with a raised eyebrow.

"Is something wrong, Mogami-san?" he asked curiously as he hung up his jacket.

"Well, it's just…what about my stuff?"

"What about it?" Ren asked in return as he gently led her into the kitchen.

"Well, the clothes I was wearing this morning are still in my locker," she replied as she listened to the sound of her footsteps echo on the hardwood floor.

"It's okay. I have extra clothes to spare."

Kyoko raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You do?"

"Of course," he replied, as he lowered Kyoko onto a stool next to the marble counter, "I hope you don't mind wearing sweats and a guy's t-shirt."

Kyoko's eyes bugged out in blatant horror as she spluttered, "W-w-w-wait! Y-Y-Y-OUR CL-CLOTH-H-ES?"

Ren chuckled. "Is that a problem?"

Kyoko made plenty of incoherent noises in response while Ren laughed and continued, "Unless you would rather wear the clothes you are wearing now for the rest of the day."

That wasn't an appealing option either. Kyoko was a very hygienic person and the fact that she won't be changing out of her uniform nearly made her want to gag. And seeing the disgusted expression on her face, Ren smiled and said, "So? Are my clothes okay?"

Sensing that she really didn't have a choice, Kyoko nodded and said, "Thank you…again, Tsuruga-san."

"Not a problem. And since we're on the topic of your living accommodations, I think it will be best if you sleep in my room instead of the living room."

"WHAT?" Kyoko exclaimed as she spun around in the stool, trying to find the source of Ren's voice.

Ren laughed and twisted her back towards the counter since he was standing on the other side. "Yes, it would be dangerous for you in the living room. You can trip over a lot of things and hurt yourself which completely negates the whole purpose of me taking care of you, doesn't it?"

That was it—the final straw, the last stand. Kyoko was going to remain firm on this one. "No," she replied in a hard voice, "I refuse, Tsuruga-san. I will not accept these terms."

"I don't really think it's up to you to decide, Mogami-san. After all, you're my guest. And it's not exactly proper for a guest to demand certain conditions, am I right?"

Kyoko clenched her hands into tight fists. "This is silly, Tsuruga-san! YOUR BEDROOM?" she shrieked.

She couldn't even imagine being by herself in it, let alone SLEEPING in his bed! It was too ridiculous! This day was becoming more absurd by the minute and Kyoko refused to follow it any longer. There had to be a line drawn somewhere!

Ren sighed heavily and ran a hand through his dark hair. Even though he knew he could get Kyoko to accept these conditions eventually, he was afraid of making the situation more strained than it should be. And he definitely didn't want any awkwardness between them during her stay. So as he tried to wrack his brain for a solution to this tricky predicament, his eyes suddenly fell upon the fruit bowl on his counter top and a wonderful idea came to mind.

"Okay," he said with bright eyes, "I understand your concern. So how about we play for it?"

"What do you mean?"

Ren placed the fruit bowl in front of her and smiled. "Let's make it a game. If you can correctly identify two out of three fruit I'm going to give you to eat with your sense of taste, you can choose where you want to sleep. If you can't, I get to choose. Fair enough?"

Kyoko bit on her lower lip. From what she could tell, there didn't seem to be any loopholes in the game. And it seemed easy enough. She only had to get two of them right. And the fact that she grew up around food should put this challenge in her favor. So feeling a new-found confidence, she nodded and said, "Okay. I accept."

"Alright," Ren said as he picked out three fruit and cut them into three bit size pieces. Placing a toothpick in each, he held the first one in front of her mouth and said, "Open wide."

Shocked by the fact he actually going to _feed_ her the fruit, Kyoko tentatively opened her mouth. But as soon as the fruit hit her tongue, Kyoko knew immediately what it was. It was slightly sour and had a rough texture to it, like it was covered with seeds. Smiling widely, Kyoko said confidently, "Strawberry."

Ren narrowed his eyes in disappointment. "Correct," he muttered.

"Whoo!" Kyoko exclaimed happily as she raised a fist into the air. "One down."

With his lips pressed together, he picked out the other fruit and gave her the same command. Kyoko opened her mouth with greater ease this time, but unfortunately for her, this item was harder to identify. The fruit was tangy, but it had an odd, bitter aftertaste as well. She couldn't really pinpoint it, but deciding to take a shot, Kyoko guessed, "Tangerine?"

Ren grinned. "Sorry, Mogami-san. Wrong answer. It's actually grapefruit."

"Darn it!" Kyoko said in frustration.

He laughed. "Okay, seems like we're tied," he said as he picked up the last fruit. "It all comes down to this."

Kyoko clenched her hands into tight fists, digging her nails into the palm of her hand. Ren lifted the toothpick into her already open mouth and when she pulled the fruit off the stick with her front teeth, he waited with abated breath. This time, Kyoko had a better idea of what it might be. The texture was familiar to what she used to eat in her childhood. It was like the strawberry, except it was a lot bumpier. It even had the same seedy texture. And doubting that he would choose the same fruit from before, Kyoko answered firmly, "Raspberry."

"Final answer?"

"Final answer," she replied with a curt nod of her head.

And to Kyoko's horror, Ren chuckled.

"Oh my god," she gasped.

He grinned widely as he leaned into her ear and murmured, "I hope you like silk sheets, Mogami-san."


	5. All Figured Out

Hi everyone! Hope you had an awesome holiday break! Well, even with all that fun, I was able squeeze in some writing. So here is part 5 and I, once again, hope you all enjoy it! And please review because I love reading your comments! THANKS!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat or any of its characters.**

* * *

Kanae sat in the lounge chair in the lobby with her legs crossed, tapping her foot upon the floor and holding her slim cell phone in her hand. She let out a sigh and glanced at the restroom door behind her. Chiori was currently in the bathroom and had asked Kanae to wait for her before they went off to their next task together which consisted of putting up posters for the new drama coming up that summer. And remembering what she had done back at the café, Kanae thought that the least she could do for Chiori was wait for her.

But while waiting for her friend, it was clear that Kanae's attention was completely focused on nothing else except her cell phone and the _lack_ of a missed call from the other LoveMe member. Staring down at it, Kanae bit on her lower lip in irritation and flipped the slender device open. And automatically going to her contacts, she scrolled down the list until she landed in the K section. And just when she was about to give her friend a quick call, reality hit Kanae pretty hard when she realized talking wasn't going to be possible for her over the phone. Kanae let out a puff of air and glared at the screen.

It would have been nice to hear from her friend how she was doing. Kanae was almost even upset at the fact that she didn't even bother to call her. It was actually very unlike her. Usually she would call her every day at every hour at exactly the same time. Kanae furrowed her eyebrows. She needed to hear from her.

So with a her mind made up, Kanae was just about to click send when suddenly—

"Who are you calling?"

Jumping nearly twenty feet into the air, Kanae leapt out of her seat and spun around with blinding speed. Chiori instinctively put up both of her hands in surrender and cried, "Whoa! Whoa! It's me!"

Kanae glared at her frightened friend as she slowly felt her heart return back to its normal pace. She lightly smacked Chiori on the shoulder and threw herself back down in the chair, letting out an irritated puff of air. Smiling sheepishly, Chiori replied, "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

Not responding, Kanae snapped her phone shut and was just about to put it back in her uniform pocket when Chiori suddenly said, "Just call her."

Kanae raised her head in surprise.

"I can tell you're worried, even back at the restaurant. You're not exactly the best liar, Kanae.

"And DON'T even try to deny it," Chiori continued in a louder voice as she saw Kanae angrily shake her head, "I already caught a glimpse of her name on your cell phone screen."

She arched a perfect eyebrow and gave her an accusatory look.

"I wasn't spying!" Chiori replied indignantly. "I just have really good eye sight, both for seeing and reading people."

Kanae let out a silent scoff and flipped open her phone again, but didn't move any further.

Curious, Chiori sat down on the arm of the chair and said, "Well, go on. Call her."

Looking up at her friend, Kanae pointed to her throat and finally back at the phone. She shook her head from side to side with her eyes closed in defeat.

"Did you already forget?" Chiori asked with a smile as she nudged her on the shoulder. "How do you think we finished our task back in Sawara-san's office?"

Kanae smiled back and nodded, knowing what she meant. It looked like they were getting another chance to make phone calls together again.

Chiori laughed and took the phone out of her hands. "Here, I'll do it then."

But just as Chiori was going to click the button, Kanae's slender hand suddenly shot out from out of nowhere and placed itself over the phone. Chiori looked up in confusion and was about to ask her what was wrong, when Kanae motioned her head to something behind her.

Turning around, Chiori saw a bespectacled man walking towards them with a friendly look upon his face. He was quite tall and sported a full-on grey suit that even she could tell masked a very fit body underneath. He walked up to them with a sweet smile and waved cheerfully.

Although Chiori didn't have a clue as to who he was, Kanae had no problem recognizing him. She smiled and slightly waved back in greeting as he asked politely, "How are you?"

Kanae stood up from the chair and shrugged her shoulders.

Yashiro laughed. "Me too. It's been a crazy day."

And while watching the two talk so casually with one another, Chiori raised an eyebrow at the couple and asked politely, "Excuse me, but who are you?"

"Oh!" Yashiro added hastily. "I'm sorry. Let me introduce myself. My name is Yashiro Yukihito. I'm Tsuruga Ren's manager."

And fully expecting her to introduce herself, Yashiro waited with a patient smile, but to his surprise, he suddenly saw her look over at Kanae and ask, "What did he say?"

Kanae silently laughed and looked around the lobby as for some means to help her friend understand. And spotting the familiar poster she was looking for, Kanae pointed at the picture of the Dark Moon advertisement on the wall, gesturing to the photo of the man on the side.

"Tsuruga-san?" Chiori asked. "What about him?"

Kanae pointed back at Yashiro and then back at the poster and then back at Yashiro until she saw Chiori made a giant O with her mouth as she said to him, "Oh, you work with Tsuruga-san!"

Yashiro smiled uneasily as he replied, "Yes…I do…what's going on?"

Kanae placed a hand over her face and shook her head in humiliation at the fact that her friend was not making this task any easier with all these ridiculous comments that only proved how crazy they seemed to be. Sighing, she peeked at Chiori through her fingers and motioned her head at Yashiro. When Chiori gave her a puzzled expression, she narrowed her eyes and pointed at Chiori's ear plug and finally to her own throat. Chiori nodded instantly and turned back to Yashiro with a bright smile.

"I'm guessing you're wondering what's going on, right?"

He nodded slowly.

"You see, Kanae and I—my name is Amimaya Chiori by the way—are completing a task for President Lory. As you can see, I'm not supposed to hear—"

She turned her head to the side and gestured to the device in her ear.

"—and Kanae isn't supposed to talk."

Chiori then pointed to Kanae who had removed her hand from her face and looked at Yashiro with such a sorrowful facial expression that it seemed as if someone had told her that a close family relative had died.

Yashiro chuckled lightly and said, "Really? What an odd task…but that does sound like something President Lory would assign. Quite interesting actually."

Kanae raised her eyebrow and placed her hands on her hips.

Chiori giggled. "I think she means that you shouldn't find this too amusing."

Surprised that Chiori understood her so easily, Kanae nodded at her friend vigorously as Yashiro laughed and replied, "Well, I'm sure he has a pretty good reason why he's making you do this."

Kanae shook her head and rolled her eyes. Chiori just smiled back and said, "Where's Tsuruga-san? Is he not with you?"

And knowing that she wasn't able to hear Yashiro shook his head. "Not today. He's getting the day off."

Kanae turned her head to the side, pointed at Yashiro, and then pointed at the ground in confusion. Yashiro raised an eyebrow.

"I think Kanae's asking why you are here then," Chiori said uncertainly. Kanae nodded.

"Well, I'm here to pick up some stuff for tomorrow. And I wanted to…well…"

Yashiro started to fidget and avert his gaze. Chiori and Kanae looked at each other in bewilderment before they turned back to him.

"Is something wrong?" Chiori asked.

"Well honestly, I really have no idea why President Lory gave him the day off. He wouldn't tell me so I'm trying to figure out why. I'm sure it's something important, but I haven't a clue as to what it is."

Kanae narrowed her eyes and placed a finger to her chin. It was quite odd that Ren wasn't at work. That guy was probably the most diligent person she had ever met. And the fact that he actually took a day of vacation was nothing short of a peculiarity. But before she could give it another thought, Chiori piped up and said, "I don't understand."

Kanae sighed and shook her head, waving her hand as if to say it was unimportant. Yashiro chuckled and shrugged his shoulders at Chiori, not really knowing how to help her.

She crossed her arms. "This not-being-able-to-hear thing is getting old. I'm tired of being the odd one out."

Kanae smiled and gently nudged her on the shoulder.

Yashior laughed and smiled apologetically at Chiori, who only rolled her eyes in frustration. But as he watched the two of them playfully interact with one another, he realized that something was off in this picture. There was someone missing. There were two LoveMe girls, but not the two that Yashiro would have recognized. In fact, if anyone asked Yashiro who was a part of LoveMe, he would have said, Kanae and—

"Kyoko-chan."

Kanae turned her head to Yashiro in surprise when she heard her friend's name.

He slightly narrowed his eyes in puzzlement. "Where's Kyoko-chan? Is she not a part of this?"

Turning to Chiori, who was the only one capable of explaining the situation, Kanae raised three fingers to help her friend start, but she only stared back at her in confusion. Kanae sighed heavily and motioned to Chiori as number one, to herself as number two, and the empty space beside Chiori as number three.

In an instant, her eyes glowed in understanding and she replied, "Oh Kyoko! Do you still want to call her?"

Kanae waved that idea away and pointed back at Yashiro after she gestured to the empty space beside Chiori. Surprised that her friend actually caught on quite quickly, Kanae listened to Chiori explain to Yashiro, "Oh, you're wondering about Kyoko. Well, she isn't here with us. She's the one that is supposed to be blind. But, we haven't seen her all day."

"You haven't? That's odd…" Yashiro replied with a scratch of his head. "She shouldn't be that hard to find. I mean, that uniform sticks out pretty well."

Kanae nodded slowly, quite confused herself because she realized that Yashiro was right. It was highly odd that during the whole day she didn't run into Kyoko once. The company was big, but not that big. So how was it that both she and Chiori couldn't spot the other LoveMe member? It didn't even seem probable that they could just be missing each other all this time. They would have to bump into each other at least once.

The only idea Kanae could up with right then was the fact that Kyoko might not even be in LME. That somehow she had already left the company—

She froze.

Yashiro stared at her in curiosity and asked worriedly, "Kotonami-san? Are you alright?"

"Kanae?" Chiori inquired. "What's wrong?"

With round eyes, she slowly raised a hand and pointed back at Ren's picture on the wall as Yashiro said uncertainly, "Yes…what about him?"

Then she gestured to the spot beside Chiori. "And Kyoko?" her friend replied curiously. "So what?"

But before Kanae could respond in any way, Yashiro's jaw suddenly dropped to the floor with a loud gasp as the realization hit him like a full-on collision.

"You don't think—!"

Kanae could only stare back at Yashiro with wide eyes.

"Huh?" Chiori asked confusedly, turning her head back and forth. "What's going on?"

Leaving Chiori in the dark, Yashiro viciously whipped out his silver cell phone from his front pocket and without the slightest hint of hesitation he dialed a number to call…

* * *

"Tsuruga-san?"

Kyoko sat on the living room couch, with the television set on while holding half a cup of iced tea in her hand. It felt quite odd for Kyoko to watch T.V when all she could do was hear, but she managed to take some amusement from it as she tried to come up with the images. But after sitting there for about thirty minutes by herself, she started to wonder where her mentor had gone to. And right on cue, he answered with,

"Right here, Mogami-san."

She turned her head to the left and raised an eyebrow. "What were you doing?"

He chuckled softly and she felt the cushion on her left flatten as he sat down beside her. "I was putting extra sheets on the bed. I don't want you to be cold at night."

Kyoko crossed her legs and angrily turned her attention back to the screen. "You're a cheater."

"And how am I cheater?" Ren asked with a wide grin. "You're the one who accepted the challenge. And you lost. Where did I cheat?"

"A blackberry? Really? It's the same as a raspberry!"

He laughed. "It's not the same thing. If it was, then it would be either a raspberry or a blackberry right?"

Kyoko lightly growled and muttered, "That wasn't fair at all. Technically, I got it right, just not the color."

Smiling gently, Ren draped his arm over the head of the couch and turned his body towards her. "Fine, I agree. In a way, you were right."

She turned to him in surprise, the ice in her glass tinkling against its surface. "Really?"

He nodded. "Yes," he said easily, "they are kind of the same. So you do win."

Kyoko laughed in glee.

"But," Ren continued louder, "so did I because the game was for you to identify the _right_ fruit, not the _sort of right_ fruit."

"Then what are you implying?"

"You are still sleeping in my room. That condition won't change, but you can choose where you want to sleep," Ren replied with ease.

Kyoko raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"What I meant was would you prefer the right side or left side of the bed?"

Glaring with every fiber of her being, Kyoko clenched her teeth tightly together and replied sarcastically, "Well, that's a fair change."

"I'm glad you think so."

"Tsuruga-san!" Kyoko exclaimed, but before she could continue, he put a hand on her shoulder which automatically froze her to a standstill.

"Mogami-san, please understand that I'm not doing this to torture you. It's just better for you that way and honestly, I will be able to sleep a whole lot easier knowing that you're safe."

Kyoko, whose heart was already going a mile a minute from his touch, didn't know how to respond. A part of her wanted to inform him that she could clearly take care of herself, but yet a part of her was almost flattered that he was going out of his way so much to take care of her. And these two sides were not reconciling with one another.

But somehow, without a clear reason as to why, Kyoko couldn't help abiding by what he wanted so with a heavy sigh, she muttered, "Right."

"I beg your pardon?"

Kyoko inhaled deeply. "I want the right side."

Ren smiled widely at her tone of voice and chuckled. "As you wish, Mogami-san."

Kyoko didn't reply, except focus on the sound of his laughter that echoed in her ears. She could feel the heat in her cheeks slowly start to pool and instinctively, Kyoko turned her face away, not daring to look directly at him.

Ren smiled and asked, "Are you still mad?"

She shook her head and took a quick sip from her drink, unable to find the voice to answer. In fact, being mad was the last thing on her mind. But suddenly, Kyoko felt his finger underneath her chin as he turned her face back to him. Kyoko froze.

"Then why won't you face me?"

Kyoko couldn't see him at all. The blindfold obscured every part of her vision, but it didn't make the situation any better. Her breath was suddenly lodged right in the middle of her throat and the world seemed to come to a complete stop. She lost complete control of her body as she heard him chuckle and murmur gently, "I promise I'll be on my best behavior."

Kyoko opened her mouth to say that she wasn't worried about that, but the only thing that registered in her mind was that she could sense the closeness of his face. And not even knowing it herself, Kyoko's body started to become limp and in one fluid motion that she couldn't prevent, the cup of tea in her hands spilled right into his lap.

Gasping, Kyoko jumped up and cried, "OH NO! I'm so sorry, Tsuruga-san!"

Ren only chuckled and said, "It's fine, Mogami-san," as he fluidly stood up from the couch to look down at his stained trouser. "It's only tea."

Kyoko flailed out her hands, trying to help in some sort of way, but suddenly he caught both of her hands with his own. "Don't worry. It's not that bad," Ren added as he stood in front of her. And while he was staring into her distraught face, he had to admit that she looked cute. Not to mention the fact that he held both of her hands in his which was doing wonders on his already excited heart.

She swallowed quietly and let her hands fall limp as she felt his hand squeeze hers in reassurance. "Are you sure?" she managed to whisper.

"Yes. Besides, I need to go and freshen up anyway. Do you mind if I leave you alone for a bit?"

Kyoko shook her head and replied with difficulty, "I'll be fine."

"Alright then," Ren answered with a smile as he lowered her back down onto the couch. "I'll be out in a few minutes."

Then in just a couple of soft footsteps, Kyoko heard him fading away until she was completely on her own. Left to her thoughts, she brought one hand over her heart and the other to her cheek. There was no way he didn't notice her reaction. Kyoko couldn't understand why she was responding to him so strongly. She acted nervous around him before, but it was nothing compared to this. It was like every amount of control she ever had disappeared into thin air every time he touched her.

She sighed heavily and leaned her head back onto the couch. "What's wrong with me?" Kyoko muttered under her breath.

But as if her question was destined to be answered, Kyoko heard a phone trill from one side of the room. Guessing that it was his cell phone, she raised herself up from the couch and began to blindly maneuver her way around the room. Unfortunately, she stubbed her toe on the foot of the table and nearly fell flat on her face if her hand didn't shoot out to stop her. Grumbling to herself at how Ren was right—that the living room was slightly dangerous—she finally managed to reach the other couch and find his cell phone on the table beside it.

Flipping it open, Kyoko answered in a breathless voice, "Hello?"

The voice on the other line faltered as it asked uncertainly, "Ren?"

"Sorry, this isn't him. I'm Mogami Kyoko. Can I help you?"

"KYOKO-CHAN? You really are there!" the person replied gleefully. "How is everything?"

"Yashiro-san?" she answered in surprise. "Wha—? Uh—hi…I'm good. How are you?"

"Why are you at Ren's place, Kyoko-chan?" he asked instead.

"Oh! Well, you see," Kyoko began with difficulty, "he's sort of…taking care of me."

Yashiro faltered. "Taking care of you?"

"Yeah," she replied sheepishly, "I'm supposedly blind for the day. Don't ask. It's a long story. But anyway, because of that, President Lory told Tsuruga-san to keep an eye on me."

Yashiro chuckled mischievously. "So you're staying over at his place?"

Kyoko sighed and murmured, "That's the plan," as she thought about where she was going to be sleeping that night. She grimaced.

Yashiro laughed and asked, "Kyoko-chan, if it's not too much to ask, but do you mind if I speak to Ren for a bit? I just want to ask him a question."

"Sure," she said simply. "Hold on."

Then carefully finding her way around the couch, Kyoko managed to slowly make her way down the hall with his cell phone in her hand. Trying to remember exactly where his room was, she walked down to the very end and made a right into a large room.

"Tsuruga-san?" she called out quietly. "Are you in here?"

No response. She walked in further into the room and said again, "Tsuruga-san?"

This time though, she heard a door smoothly open behind her, but when she turned her body around, she accidently tripped over the rug upon the floor and instinctively brought out her hands to catch herself, dropping the phone along the way. But while fully expecting to fall on the floor, Kyoko's hands suddenly landed on something firm and wet.

"Mogami-san? Are you okay?" Ren asked in a worried voice as his arms naturally encircled her waist to hold her up.

But Kyoko was in no shape to answer. Because right then and there, she could feel her heart explode into a million pieces when she realized with a pang the position she was in. She was pressed against her mentor's chest…which was completely and undeniably naked.


	6. Skin

Happy December everyone! I can't believe the holidays are already coming up! And that means I get more time to write! Hehe, with school coming to an end for the year, I'll definitely put more time in to update. But anyway, here is part 6 of the story and I can't thank you enough for all your reviews. You guys are great! Thanks!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat or any of its characters.**

* * *

Kyoko couldn't breathe. She had no idea what to do. Every part of her was screaming for her to move and step away, but her body refused to listen. Her hands remained still on his naked chest as he asked in a worried voice, "Mogami-san, is everything okay?"

She mechanically shook her head from side to side, feeling her stomach give another lurch as he gently lifted her face to his. "Are you hurt?"

Managing to find some kind of voice, Kyoko stuttered, "No—it's just—I tripped—"

Ren looked down on the floor and clenched his teeth together in frustration. He couldn't believe he forgot the rug while he was fixing up the room earlier to make it safer for Kyoko to sleep in. He was so worried about the bed that he completely ignored everything else. Wanting to beat himself over the head for such carelessness, he was just about to pick up the rug off the floor when she suddenly said, "Tsuruga-san, the phone."

He stared back at her in surprise. "What phone?"

She didn't provide a response, but instead pointed at the floor where a black device was carelessly laid open.

And when Ren listened closely enough, he could hear a male voice say, "Hello? Kyoko-chan? You there?"

In an instant, his body went rigid when he realized who it was. Scowling at the ability of his nosy manager to figure things out, Ren quickly bent down and picked the device off the floor. Sighing heavily, he brought the phone to his ear and said in a wary tone, "Give me a minute and I'll explain everything."

Recognizing Ren's voice immediately, Yashiro scoffed and replied stiffly, "Fine."

Ren placed the phone side-down on top of his drawer behind him and turned his attention back to his pupil who was still frozen from head to toe. He noticed how her hands hadn't moved at all and that it seemed as if she was almost _okay_ with the close proximity of their bodies. And when he looked down at the both of them, Ren finally registered the fact that he was shirtless. Instantly feeling the heat rush to his face at her tender touch, Ren cleared his throat and said in a shaky voice, "Mogami-san, I'm going to carry you to the bed alright? And then I'll take the phone call outside."

But as soon as Kyoko was about to open her mouth to deny his request, he had already lifted her knees right from under her and gently cradled her to his chest. Kyoko's heart thumped loudly as she realized that her face was placed right against his bare skin. He even carried her with such ease that it made Kyoko wonder just how strong her mentor was, not to mention the fact that it didn't even seem to bother him at all that she was touching him. Ren kept her close against him and when she breathed in deeply, she recognized a familiar scent that only made her more crazed than earlier. It felt as if fireworks were going off in her head.

Then very slowly, he lowered Kyoko onto the edge of the soft bed and knelt down at her feet. "Don't move. I'll be right back."

Kyoko nodded tentatively as she heard him walk over to the drawer and pick up the phone.

"Hello?" Ren said.

Kyoko couldn't hear what Yashiro said, but he must have been pretty excited since Ren answered with, "Yashiro, you're killing my eardrums—will you calm—alright, I know I should have told—let me explain—"

But that was the last thing she heard before her mentor's footsteps began to fade away down the hall. Once left alone, she clenched her hands together into a tight fist on her lap, waiting for her sporadic heartbeat to slow. The smoothness of his skin still lingered on her fingertips as she absentmindedly rubbed her fingers together. She could even still feel the heat that was emanating from his body upon her face.

Placing her head in her hands, Kyoko groaned internally at the foolish mistake she made. He must have thought she was insane! She couldn't even believe the fact that she touched him while he was naked! And this was coming from the girl who vehemently opposed to share the same the bed with him, but now brave enough to feel him up.

Kyoko really wanted to scream. Every part of her was spinning in turmoil, but the one thing that bothered her most was that a part of her—

She swallowed the heavy lump in her throat.

—didn't _hate_ what happened.

"AHHHHH!" Kyoko shrieked into her hands so that the scream came out muffled. There was no way she thought that. Kyoko had to push that horrid thought out of her mind. It was wrong, the whole thing was wrong!

"_But his skin was so soft,"_ she thought with a light blush.

"SHUT UP!" she suddenly yelled at herself as she flung herself back onto his bed. "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"

"_He smelled good too."_

"NO MORE!"

"_You know you liked it…"_

"No! I—I—"

"_See? You can't deny it…"_

Angry at her subconscious by now, Kyoko beat her hands on his mattress and was just about to scream at the top of her lungs when something suddenly vibrated in the pocket of her LoveMe uniform. Breathing heavily, she dug into the pouch and pulled out her pink cell phone. Flipping it open without a second thought, Kyoko placed it next to her ear and was suddenly greeted with a thunderous,

"HELLO?"

Moving the phone back at least a foot away from her ear, she cringed as the same voice hollered, "KYOKO? YOU THERE?"

"Chiori!" Kyoko yelled back into the phone as she sat upright, "Lower your voice!"

"KYOKO!" Chiori cried back, but suddenly it seemed that something had caught her attention because Kyoko heard her mutter, "Huh? What did I do? Do what? Lower? My voice? Oh, my voice!"

Then with a sheepish laugh, Chiori said, "Sorry about that Kyoko. I'm still trying to get this not-hearing thing down. Not going very well as you can see. But anyway, where are you?"

Kyoko froze. "Where am I?"

There was a slight pause and then right after Chiori said, "Kanae nodded so I'm guessing whatever you asked, she answered with a yes."

"Moko-san is there too?" Kyoko asked in surprise. But then she remembered what the President had said back at the office, that the two of them were working together to complete the task.

"Kanae nodded again," Chiori replied simply.

She sighed. Out of everybody in the world to call her, it just had to be her two friends. It seemed like everything is going to be out in the open now. How could she hide her whereabouts from Chiori and Kanae? After all, it didn't seem right to lie to them. So biting on her lower lip, Kyoko murmured in a low whisper, "I'm at Tsuruga-san's."

There was a pause on the other end that Kyoko had to admit made her quite nervous since it seemed like her answer created a shock of some sort. Not knowing what kind of facial expression Kanae was making, Kyoko could only guess that it was blatant surprise since she heard Chiori inquire, "You okay, Kanae?"

But before Kyoko could say anything, Chiori said, "What's going on? Huh? Tsuruga-san? What about him? A house…his house? Yes, he lives in a house. Okay…now the phone. Oh, not the phone? Kyoko? So Tsuruga-san…his house…and Kyoko…Uh-huh…"

Then with the loudest gasp Kyoko had ever heard, she braced herself for the screaming as she swiftly moved the phone from her ear and heard Chiori screech, "YOU'RE AT TSURUGA-SAN'S PLACE?"

With ringing ears, Kyoko hastily replied, "Let me explain! This wasn't planned! I mean, I had no idea what was going on, I—!"

However it seemed like her words were not heard at all since Chiori continued with her tirade of, "HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL US? WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN? TSURUGA-SAN? _THE_ TSURUGA-SAN? DID YOU RIG THIS? YOU GOT TSURUGA-SAN, WHILE I GOT KANAE? HOW IS THIS FAIR? _OUCH, KANAE!_"

Distraught, Kyoko tried to explain everything and clear up all the confusion, but since she couldn't get in a single syllable, she knew that her efforts were in vain. But then, Chiori suddenly exclaimed in pain once again as she said, "Kanae! What was that for?"

There was a lot more rustling after that as if there was some kind of struggle, but the ruckus ended as soon as it started until there was only silence over the phone. Kyoko waited with abated breath and managed to whisper, "Moko-san?"

Silence.

"Hello?"

A single noise.

Kyoko smiled, realizing that it was her silent friend after all. "Okay, let me say that I was just as surprised as you are. This wasn't planned; at least I had no idea that it was planned until it happened. President Lory said I needed a partner so from what I can infer, Tsuruga-san volunteered."

No response.

"Should I go on?" Kyoko asked.

A tiny click.

Taking it as a sign to keep going, Kyoko continued with, "So, I'm staying at his place, for my own safety according to the President and him."

Kyoko decided to leave out all the other stuff like sleeping in his bed and touching his naked body. Why add oil to the already burning flames? When finished, she waited patiently for a response until she heard the phone being passed to someone else.

Chiori was back, but her tone slightly changed. It was almost as if she was scared. "Okay…so Kanae just gave me the phone without telling me what to say. She's just standing here, with her arms crossed."

Instantly, Kyoko felt guilty. She knew she must have made her friend angry by being so careless. She must have thought that Kyoko was pathetic for getting herself into this type of predicament. If it was her, Kanae would have had full control of the problem and not just do things on a whim.

"Um…I'm just going to give her the phone back now," Chiori said uncertainly, not knowing what to do with the awkward tension.

And when she realized that her friend was on the line again, Kyoko added glumly, "I know I'm an idiot. I shouldn't have agreed, but I didn't know what to do. You're probably mad at my carelessness, but from here on out, I'll think about my choices more. I promise."

Chiori's voice suddenly came over the phone again as she said, "Kanae just nodded."

Kyoko gave a tiny smile. "Thanks Moko-san."

"Huh?" Chiori suddenly asked in a distant voice. "What's that? Where are we going? Oh right! The fliers!"

Then her voice became clearer as she directed her voice back to Kyoko and said, "Okay Kyoko. Kanae and I have to go now. But tomorrow I want ALL the details, understand? So until then, bye!"

And before Kyoko could even utter a farewell, the line went dead. She sighed. It seemed like Kanae was still mad. This day was not going her way at all and knowing that she had to do some kind of damage control, Kyoko decided to send Kanae an honest text message of apology. Of course, without the ability to see, it was highly difficult for her to type out a proper one, but Kyoko assumed she got most of the letters right if not all of them. Then with one click of the send button, Kyoko snapped her phone shut and placed it back into her pocket.

Feeling worn out, she lowered herself back down onto the mattress and stayed there with her arms stretched out and palms facing upward. Kyoko tried to focus on the quiet ticking of the clock in the room, wanting to erase every thought in her already cluttered mind. But as soon as she started to relax, the sound of footsteps entered the room as a familiar voice said in an amused tone, "So I guess you like the bed now?"

Kyoko instantly sat up in surprise and exclaimed, "Tsuruga-san! No! It's not—I didn't mean to—"

He laughed and sat down beside her. "I'm kidding, Mogami-san. Relax."

Of course, Ren was sort of being a hypocrite here. He wasn't exactly as calm as he was giving off since on the inside, his heart was going crazy after he saw Kyoko lying so comfortably on his bed. How her lips were slightly parted and curved into a sweet, content smile…the way her hands were left open and bare…Immediately, very improper thoughts ran through his mind and he had to bite down on his tongue before any sounds escaped his lips.

At the same time, he was also quite nervous from the chaos he caused earlier with that shirtless incident. Even then it was hard to read how she felt since her eyes were covered and usually he could guess what she was thinking just by staring into them. Obviously, Ren had noticed that Kyoko was stiff from their "embrace." That part wasn't hard to notice, but what annoyed him was that he had no idea what kind of stiffness it was. Was it just her being awkward? Or was it because he had crossed the line?

Ren ran a hand through his hair and was about to apologize about earlier when Kyoko's hand suddenly went to his shoulder. He froze as he felt her slender hand gently move across his collared shirt.

"Good," she murmured softly. "You put on a shirt. Now you won't get sick."

Surprised beyond comprehension, Ren stammered, "What?"

"You just got out of the shower and if you walked around while wet, it will only make it easier for you to be ill. And since you're supposed to take care of me, that won't work if you can't get out of bed, right?"

Ren smiled at her innocent comment and nodded as he gently reached for her hand. "Right," he murmured.

Kyoko blushed profusely and let her hand go limp in his. Technically, she just wanted to make sure he had a shirt on, that way she knew it was safe to be around him. If he was still naked, Kyoko knew for a fact that she was going to collapse whenever he touched her. Besides, just having her hand in his was already making her heart thump painfully in her chest.

"So," Kyoko said slowly as her cheeks started to heat up, "what did Yashiro want?"

Ren faltered. "Umm…"

Yashiro's intention of calling Ren couldn't be exactly labeled as caring since he only wanted to make sure that his theory was true. And when he heard Kyoko's voice on the other line, he nearly cried out in glee at the prospect of the many opportunities for Ren to finally reveal his true feelings for her. However, Ren made it clear that he had no intentions of pushing himself onto Kyoko like some sexual predator. He really was just acting as her caretaker and did not plan on taking on another role besides that. Upon hearing his friend's stance, Yashiro was clearly upset at Ren's absolute refusal to let his walls down, but he continued to hope that Ren's desire for Kyoko will eventually win over his absurd rationality.

"Tsuruga-san?" Kyoko called.

Brought back from his train of thought, Ren quickly shook his head and replied, "Nothing of importance. He was just being a good manager by checking up on me."

"_Good manager…yeah right,"_ Ren scoffed silently in his head.

Kyoko smiled. "That's nice of him."

"What about you?" Ren asked back. "I heard you were talking to someone too."

"Oh!" she said, "It was Kanae and Chiori. They were just asking me where I was."

That instantly made Ren suspicious. How was it that at the exact same time his manager called to ask about his whereabouts, Kyoko's friends called in order to make sure of the exact same thing? It was just too good to be a coincidence. And instantly guessing that those three must have worked it out together, Ren shook his head from side to side in disbelief and said, "Were they worried?"

"In a way," Kyoko said uncertainly, not catching his movement, "more like curious…at least I hope so."

Ren laughed. "Yashiro was too."

Blushing profusely, Kyoko turned her face away. She guessed from the outside looking in, the situation seemed slightly scandalous. After all, she was SLEEPING in her mentor's bed for goodness sake! Still, it was only him being nice…being the kind of mentor he should be…right? Kyoko furrowed her eyebrows in thought.

Was this really just him being kind? Or was this something more…? Because if she truly thought about it, he was seriously doing more than any mentor would do. In fact, it was almost painful to watch how much he was doing. And there was no way that Kyoko would be able to repay his kindness so it's obvious that he wasn't looking for anything in return. So why was he trying so hard? Why _was_ he doing all of this?

Then suddenly, from out of nowhere, her stomach growled like some maniacal beast that had awoken from a deep slumber. Absolutely humiliated, Kyoko quickly wrapped her arms around her stomach, but Ren chuckled amusedly and said, "Sounds like it's time for dinner."

"No! I'm fine, Tsuruga-san."

"Oh no," he said with a smile as he pulled her to her feet, "I already have it all planned out and this is my chance to prove to you that I'm not completely incompetent."

Kyoko blushed. "I never said you were incompetent," she muttered guiltily. Of course there was no guarantee that she didn't _think_ it, but he didn't need to know that part of the story.

"Well, once you try my food, it will never cross your mind."

"You're going to _cook?"_ she asked incredulously.

"That's right, Mogami-san. I will be your personal chef tonight."

Kyoko smiled in amusement and comfortably allowed him to lead her into the kitchen. When he sat her down upon the same stool again, she placed both her hands on the cool counter and said, "Well then _C__hef_, what will you be making?"

"Fluffy, white onigiri filled with lightly simmered pork and a warm, delectable miso soup."

"You know how?" Kyoko asked, unable to mask the surprised tone in her voice.

"Yes," Ren replied in a jokingly offended voice, "I do." Of course, he actually just learned how to cook. When he heard about Kyoko's assignment a few weeks ago from President Lory, he figured that he would need to know how to make dinner so he spent the last couple of weeks practicing. The first few tries were a horrendous failure, but he managed to get the hang of it eventually. Still, by now, he had to admit that he was pretty sick of fluffy-white-onigiri-filled-with-lightly-simmered-pork-and-a-warm-delectable-miso-soup.

She giggled. "I have to admit Tsuruga-san, I had no idea."

Ren chuckled as he washed his hands and began to lay out all the ingredients. "Then prepare to eat your words. No pun intended."

Kyoko laughed and leaned her chin into the palm of her hand. It was nice to hear her mentor so carefree. He seemed to be really enjoying himself and Kyoko realized that she was too. In fact, she was sort of almost…_happy _that she was here. It made the task seem more like a fun activity rather than an assignment.

"What are you smiling about?" Ren asked curiously as he was molding the sticky rice that was prepared earlier in his hands, watching her out of the corner of his eye.

Kyoko shook her head. "Nothing really."

"Uh-huh," Ren answered suspiciously. "That's convincing."

Kyoko laughed in return and instead asked, "So what are you making first?"

"Onigiri."

"Those are hard to make, Tsuruga-san," Kyoko said teasingly, "Are you sure you'll do them justice?"

Ren shook his head in disbelief. "You have no faith in me whatsoever, do you?"

She smiled. "Not in the least," Kyoko answered easily.

"Then here, let me prove it to you."

And without really thinking about the consequences of his actions, he suddenly placed his index finger covered with rice against Kyoko's lips.

At first she was too surprised to move. Kyoko couldn't believe that he actually did it, not to mention the fact that all she could feel was his tender skin upon her lips. And feeling her stomach do a a million somersaults, she tentatively parted her lips just a bit and took in the tip of his finger. Kyoko gently licked off the clump of rice as she felt him lean away.

"What do you think?" he asked in a lower voice than earlier, feeling his heart thump loudly in his chest.

Kyoko quietly swallowed. With a heat that was burning like fire within her, she murmured softly, "Sweet."

He chuckled in a slightly shaky tone. "Good, then I did it right."

Kyoko didn't provide any response after that as she allowed herself to drown in the butterflies that were fluttering within her. Because it turns out that she wasn't talking about the rice at all. In fact, dinner suddenly became the last thing on her mind…


	7. A Rowdy Evening

Hi everyone! So sorry for such a late update. After getting back from school, I didn't realize there was so much stuff I had to do! But I'm sure my updates will be more punctual from now on. Thanks again for all the feedback you guys gave me. It definitely helped me a lot. So I hope you enjoy this one as well and please review!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat or any of its characters.**

* * *

_Mokoo-san:_

_I am reablly sorrry for eveerythimng. I promjise I willl do baetter npext timse. And sorrry fopr not calling you troday. I will maike it up to you. _

_Much klove, Kyokoo._

Kanae's lips curved into a small smile as she read her friend's highly confusing—and interestingly misspelled—text message. As she made her way back to one of the offices from the bathroom, Kanae had to admit that she was quite amused at how many letters Kyoko got wrong when she herself could text without looking at the keypad. However, even though her text was slightly hard to decipher, Kanae understood that her friend was sorry and was more than willing to accept her apology.

But Kyoko had it all wrong. Kanae wasn't mad at the fact that she was staying at Ren's place. That notion didn't even cross her mind. What she was upset about was how Kyoko didn't even bother to let her know. Usually Kanae wouldn't get so jealous, but this time it felt like her best friend had replaced her with the heartthrob of their generation.

Kanae clenched her teeth together. This jealousy thing was not working out. But when she looked down at the text message she received three hours ago, Kanae could feel her anger disappear and a smile slowly curve at the corner of her lips. Kyoko had already apologized so there was nothing left to do, but forget about it.

So content with her decision, she decided to go and get Chiori in the office on the fourth floor and see if everything was done. Unfortunately for those two, after putting up the drama fliers together, it seemed that the work was never-ending since they were not allowed to take a break at all as more assignments were thrown their way. From scheduling meetings to dropping off papers to making more phone calls, the LoveMe girls were constantly on the move.

By now, it was already six in the evening and all Kanae wanted was to get home and relax in her comfortable bed. After a good 15 minute walk, she suddenly spotted Chiori walking out of the office, waving a farewell with a smile on her face. When her eyes met Kanae's, her smile brightened as she exclaimed, "Hey Kanae!"

Kanae smiled back and stood in front of her, motioning her head to the office.

"I finished everything," Chiori answered easily. "It took longer than I thought, but now we get to leave."

Kanae nodded in thanks at her friend's hardworking personality as she led her friend down the hall to take the next elevator to the locker room. But as they stepped out of the elevator and were walking towards the changing room together, Chiori suddenly turned to Kanae and said in a serious voice, "Can I ask you a question?"

Kanae looked at her out of the corner of her eye in curiosity and nodded.

"About Kyoko," she began slowly, "I've been thinking about her all day, so I have to ask…what's her relationship with Tsuruga-san?"

Kanae quickly averted her gaze and kept her eyes locked forward.

"I mean, it seems that there's something there. I can't really explain it, but it's almost like they share some sort of bond. Don't you think so?"

Kanae furrowed her eyebrows. She had no idea how Chiori was doing it, but it was like she was reading her mind. That was the exact kind of thinking that Kanae had when it came to the two of them. Even though Kyoko had constantly refused the notion that she had any feelings for her mentor whatsoever and that she only saw him as her role model, Kanae had to admit that Kyoko's actions didn't necessarily match with the words that came out of her mouth.

"Kanae?" Chiori asked when she saw that her friend wasn't looking at her. "Is something wrong?"

Shaking her head from side to side, Kanae only shrugged in response and waved her hand at Chiori's face.

Chiori laughed. "I guess you're right. Maybe I'm thinking too much into it."

Kanae only smiled and lightly nudged her friend in the shoulder, realizing more and more how Chiori was having such an easier time understanding her.

"Because, I mean," Chiori continued, "it's not like Tsuruga-san and Kyoko have feelings for each other. Ridiculous, right?"

Kanae didn't reply.

"It would seem a bit weird. They're like complete opposites."

She continued to walk forward, listening intently to Chiori's comments.

"After all, has Tsuruga-san ever even done things for Kyoko outside of work? He only acts as her mentor."

In an instant, a shock ran through Kanae's body. That part was wrong—dead wrong. Chiori couldn't be farther from the truth because Kanae knew plenty of moments when Ren's image of a mentor vanished around Kyoko. Even though they put on the façade of pupil and teacher on the outside, there were moments when those images cracked and those two might not even have realized it. Kanae noticed though. How could she not? She could even clearly pinpoint when…like during Kyoko's birthday…

But as Kanae's mind was running through all of her past memories, she suddenly heard a shrill cackle-like laughter echo from across the hall. It was practically reverberating off the walls. She immediately turned around and felt her eyes narrow in irritation. Out of all people to run into at the end of a very tiring day, it just had to be Matsunai Ruriko, LME's pompous little princess, who had the biggest smile on her face.

"Well, look who we have here," Ruriko said with an evil grin, "it's the company clowns. Hard day at work, girls?"

Kanae glared as Chiori turned around in curiosity as to why Kanae stopped and stared at Ruriko with furrowed eyebrows. She didn't recognize the young girl at all, but the vibe that she was giving off made Chiori think that this probably wasn't someone she wanted to know anyway.

"Who are you?" Chiori asked with her head turned to the side.

Ruriko faltered. "Who am I? WHO AM I?"

"What did she say?" Chiori asked as she turned to Kanae who only glared even more menacingly at the horribly offended actress. Her haughtiness was getting on her nerves.

Really irritated by now, Ruriko dramatically flipped her dark hair over her shoulder and sneered. "Well, I don't need an introduction for you two. You're the pathetic LoveMe girls who would do ANYTHING to get measly little points. Tell me, how does it feel to get a job here based on anything BUT talent?"

Kanae took a step forward, but Chiori quickly placed a hand on her shoulder, holding her back. Chiori didn't need any help to understand what happened. This girl was definitely not a friend.

She laughed loudly. "Now now, Kanae. Don't want to hurt your superiors now, do you? Or I'll have to take away those precious points of yours."

Kanae bit down on her tongue.

"After all, I'm sure scrubbing all the bathroom toilets must have been very tiring. But if it makes you feel better, your uniform fits perfectly with the job!"

Kanae could feel her blood turn into hot lava, coursing through her veins.

"I mean seriously, do you have _any_ shame?"

That was it. Kanae couldn't take it anymore. This humiliation was going far enough.

"What's wrong, Kanae?" Ruriko said with a twisted smile. "Cat got your tongue?"

She clenched her hands into tight fists. Forget the damn assignment. This wasn't worth it. Ruriko wasn't going to win this easily. And just when Kanae was about to open her mouth to give her a piece of her mind, a loud thunderous voice suddenly bellowed,

"OH MY GOD! WHAT THE HECK IS ON YOUR FACE?"

Jumping nearly ten feet into the air, Kanae turned her body around and stared at an oddly horrified Chiori who had her hands over her mouth in terror.

Pointing at Ruriko's shocked face, Chiori yelled, "IS THAT SOME SORT OF PIMPLE?"

Quickly placing a hand over her cheek, Ruriko yelled back, "What are you talking about? Shut up!"

"EWW! IT'S GREEN! AND THERE'S PUS! GROSS!"

"Stop it!" Ruriko shrieked.

"OH MAN, I THINK IT BURSTED!"

"Stop lying!" she yelled, but it was too late.

Everyone in the lobby was turning around in curiosity at the loud commotion and she even saw some people pointing at her with laughter. Blushing profusely, Ruriko shook her head and screamed, "There's nothing on my—!"

"OH MY GOD! I THINK IT'S SPREADING! YOU BETTER GO CHECK THAT OUT! IT LOOKS CONTAGIOUS!" Chiori roared as people started to step away from Ruriko.

"No! No!" Ruriko yelled helplessly as she watched the bystanders quickly make their way out of the lobby with a disgusted look on their face.

Smiling triumphantly, Chiori hollered back, "IT'S OKAY! I'M SURE IT'LL CLEAR UP IN A WEEK OR TWO! IT'S ONLY THE SIZE OF A GOLF BALL!"

And as she wrapped her hand around Kanae's slender wrist, Chiori effortlessly pulled her friend the other direction and yelled over her shoulder, "YOU FEEL BETTER NOW!"

Then without another look, Chiori pulled Kanae along with her body shaking in laughter. She was nearly gasping for breath. "Did you—see—the—look—on her—face?" she managed to stammer in between breaths. "It was—PRICELESS!"

Kanae couldn't believe it. It was just too good to be true. Chiori completely blew her plan out of the water. She was just going to tell Ruriko to shut her trap, but her friend managed to do that AND humiliate her publicly. Chiori turned around to see Kanae's astonished gaze.

She smiled sheepishly. "Did I kill your eardrums again?"

Kanae shook her head and smiled. Then raising her other hand, she gave Chiori a thumbs-up sign that made her friend's face glow three million times brighter.

Chiori laughed. "Oh, so _now_ you want me to scream?"

Kanae stopped dead in her tracks. She put both her hands up and shook them back and forth, but it was too late. Chiori had already sucked in a breath and bellowed,

"WOO-HOO!"

Feeling the ringing in her ears, Kanae cringed as Chiori only laughed louder and pulled her to the locker room. When they finally stood in front of their respective lockers, Chiori quickly opened the door and began to change, but Kanae was too preoccupied with staring at her friend.

Even though it was such a simple thing to do, the fact that Chiori stood up for her was making her feel really warm inside. Usually Kyoko was the only one who could do that, but Chiori helped her without a second thought. Kanae didn't know how to thank her at all.

And as she mentally replayed the image of Ruriko's horrified face in her mind, Kanae was suddenly pulled back from her happy memory when Chiori exclaimed, "Alright! Time to go home. Too bad we won't be doing this the rest of the day, Kanae. It was actually really fun working with you."

Kanae looked up at her friendly smile and nodded. It was true—today was fun.

"But I'll see you tomorrow okay?" Chiori said as she placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Later!"

But before Chiori could take a single step, Kanae swiftly pulled her back by her shoulder. Confused, Chiori turned around and raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

Without bothering to answer her question, Kanae easily grasped Chiori's wrist, slung her handbag over her shoulder, and led her friend out of the changing room.

"Kanae, where are we going?"

She didn't reply in any way. Kanae just smiled and continued along her path as she stepped out of the company onto the busy pavement.

"Kanae," Chiori said uncertainly, "I live the other way." She pointed to the back of her as she continued to be dragged along through town by her dark-haired friend.

Kanae shook her head and turned around with a devious smile. Then with a slender hand, she pointed straight at herself and then pointed at the street before them.

"You? Wait, I'm staying at your place?"

And with a motion that seemed incredibly easy, Kanae smiled tenderly and gave Chiori a fluid nod.

"ALRIGHT!"

* * *

"Well?" Ren asked as he sat across from her and waited patiently for Kyoko to swallow the last sip of his miso soup. "How was everything?"

Kyoko kept her gaze downward, not wanting to reveal the look of utmost satisfaction that she knew was clearly spelled out on her face because of the delicious dinner she just scarfed down. She hated being wrong, but she had to admit, her mentor was a much better chef than she thought. Kyoko scowled. _"Is there anything he can't do?"_

"Mogami-san?" Ren called as he tried to get a better look at her face. "Say something."

Clearing her throat, Kyoko finally raised her head and said in a barely audible murmur, "mlikedit."

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. Can you say that one more time?"

Kyoko glared behind her blindfold. "Ilikedit."

"You what?"

"I liked it!" she said louder as she finally raised her head in exasperation to hear his deep laughter.

Ren smiled widely in amusement and pushed himself away from his chair, walking towards the cabinets above the sink. "Really? That means a lot coming from you, Mogami-san."

Kyoko bit on her lower lip and sighed. "I'm feeling really insignificant here."

"Why?"

"Do you have any faults, Tsuruga-san?" Kyoko asked with a huff as she leaned her chin into the palm of her hand, "because I'm starting to suspect some foul play here. Nobody can be _this_ good at everything."

Ren chuckled and retrieved two tall wine glasses from his cupboard. "I think you're giving me too much credit. There are plenty of things I can't do."

"Like?" Kyoko inquired, really curious as to what he was going to say next. Finally, she was going to get a little glimpse into the oh-so-mysterious life of her mentor. Kyoko was nearly jumping out of her seat in anticipation.

"Well, I can't—juggle."

Kyoko raised an eyebrow. "Juggle? That's it?"

Ren chuckled. "What do you want me to say, Mogami-san?" he asked with a smile as he opened the refrigerator door and took out a glass container, placing it next to the wine glasses. "Are you looking for something specific?"

"Well, I was hoping you would say something of more substance," Kyoko mumbled while she turned around in her chair and faced what she hoped was his direction.

"Then how about this: I don't think I can make desserts very well."

Kyoko faltered. "Desserts?"

"Yeah, but you can be the judge of that."

Then without further ado, Ren carried over the two, filled wine glasses, each containing a long silver spoon. He placed one in front of Kyoko and gently put the spoon into her hand.

"Tell me what you think."

Kyoko grasped the utensil in her hand and looked up at what she felt was his towering figure. "What's this?"

"Something I tried to remake for you."

"I don't understand," Kyoko replied slowly as he placed a cool, tall glass in her other hand.

"You'll see what I mean after you try it. At least, I hope you will," Ren replied with a smile. He knelt down on his knees so that he could look at her face to face. "Go on."

Really curious, Kyoko scooped up whatever it was that was in the glass and quickly placed the spoon into her mouth. She immediately tasted a rich, yet delicate texture that practically melted on her tongue even though it was surprisingly cool and refreshing. Knowing instantly what it was, Kyoko smiled widely as she heard him chuckle and ask, "I'm guessing it's not too bad?"

"How did you find the recipe?"Kyoko asked in surprise.

Ren ran a hand through his hair and said sheepishly, "I did a lot of research. I don't think it necessarily matches what you made me though. Your version is much better."

Kyoko shook her head and took another bite of the cool wine jelly. "No, your way of making it tastes great, Tsuruga-san. Thank you."

Ren smiled and stood back up on his feet. "I think I should be the one thanking you. You gave me the inspiration after all."

Feeling the heat go straight to her cheeks, Kyoko lowered her head in embarrassment as she took in the final bite. It tasted delicious. And the fact that he remembered what she made him on Valentine's Day was making Kyoko all nervous and fidgety. He put so much thought in everything he did. Kyoko couldn't explain it, but her stomach was tied up in knots all over again and strangely enough, the feeling didn't bother her. In fact, she even sort of liked.

And just when Kyoko was about to give her thanks again, she suddenly heard the faucet being turned on and running water fall into the sink. Quickly standing from her chair, she stumbled her way over to the sink and reached out an arm that thankfully landed on his shoulder.

"Let me do the dishes, Tsuruga-san. It's the least I can do after everything you've done."

"Mogami-san," Ren said with a shake of his head, "you're my guest. It's my turn to take care of you for tonight. Please, just enjoy yourself."

But Kyoko refused to back down. She had been relaxing long enough and to be frank, she was quite sick and tired of sitting on her butt all day. So with a firm voice, Kyoko reached out her other hand and managed to place it over his. "At least let me help. I want to be able to do _something_."

Ren sighed. He could hear the stubbornness in Kyoko's words as they rang in his ears. She wasn't going to give up like earlier and it seemed pretty harmless to let her help anyway. After all, Kyoko wouldn't be able to injure herself with him here. So with a smile, Ren nodded and replied, "Alright, how about you dry and I wash?"

Kyoko smiled widely. "Deal."

Handing her the dish towel on the stove, Kyoko took her place on his right and patiently waited for him to pass a dish. At first, they worked in silence, just listening to the plates clink against each other and the water filling up the sink. The atmosphere wasn't awkward though. It just felt like everything was at peace.

Then, without knowing the reason as to why the question escaped his lips, Ren asked the one thing he wanted to say ever since this assignment began: "Do you still regret the fact that I'm your partner, Mogami-san?"

Shocked by his blunt inquiry, Kyoko quickly raised her head and replied in earnest, "Of course not! What made you think that?"

Ren shook his head. "Just curious. I know I wouldn't exactly be your first pick and everything, but—"

"—you're the best partner I could ever ask for."

Everything came to a screeching a halt. Ren's hands froze to a standstill as he watched a redness begin to color her delicate cheeks. Kyoko didn't turn her head to him at all. In fact, if he wasn't sure of the notion that she was the only person who could have said it, Ren would have never believed that she was the one who murmured the phrase that nearly lit his body on fire. He couldn't believe it at all.

Ren couldn't even tear his eyes away from the tender smile on the corner of her pink lips. He didn't know how to respond. Her answer had completely caught him off guard. Anymore moments like these and Ren was sure he was going to have a heart attack by the end of the night.

She said he was the best. That was more than enough for Ren. Kyoko didn't have to say another word. The fact that she acknowledged his efforts at all made him feel as if he was on top of the world. Maybe she noticed him more than he thought. Maybe her outlook of him as a mentor diminished just a bit and that idea alone made Ren glow with a happiness that seemed to emanate deep from his heart.

But while deeply immersed in his own thoughts, Ren didn't notice Kyoko's stiffness at the silence. As soon as those words left her mouth, Kyoko would have done anything to take them back. She couldn't believe how reckless she was. Saying such a thing to her mentor was not only problematic, but extremely inappropriate. Just because she was on better terms with him doesn't mean that she should blurt things out so randomly. But Kyoko meant what she said—that if there was anyone who would be the perfect partner, he would be it.

With her heart all aflutter, Kyoko decided it would be best to break the weird silence between them, but just when she was about to turn towards him, it seemed Ren had the same idea as well. So in one fluid motion, both of their hands bumped into each other, causing them to drop their dishes in the sink with a big splash!

The soapy water splashed right onto Kyoko's face and onto Ren's chest.

"Mogami-san, I'm so sorry!"

"It's my fault!"

"Here let me help you!"

"No, I got it!"

And as they reached out to help each other, Kyoko's foot slipped on the wet floor, and with a clumsy topple she accidently clung onto her mentor's shirt and dragged him down with her. Falling upon his chest, Kyoko felt herself lying right on top of him. Naturally he had his hands on her back and in a worried, yet slightly amused voice he asked, "You alright, Mogami-san?"

"I'm so sorry, Tsuruga-san!" Kyoko cried in earnest as she tried her best to regain her balance, but she didn't realize just how much soapy water was splattered all over the floor. In the end, she just slipped even more and fell right back onto his chest with a thud. Ren grunted.

"OH MY GOD! I'm so sorry! Let me—!"

But when Kyoko tried again, she elbowed Ren straight in the rib cage.

"TSURUGA-SAN! OH NO! I'M SOR—!"

This time, her foot slipped so that her bent leg hit him right in the crotch.

Unfortunately, Ren couldn't hold that one and Kyoko nearly cried out in distress for all the pain she was causing him. Not knowing how much of her knees and elbows he can endure, Ren naturally brought both of his arms around her waist and held her still.

In a calm, yet slightly breathless voice, he managed to say, "Mogami-san, hold still. Let me help you."

And with a firm grip around her, Ren was able to nimbly lift her off the floor and push himself up so that he could plant her feet upright. Still having his arms around her, Ren looked down at her red face and smiled, "You alright?"

Kyoko shook her head and cried, "I'M SO SORRY! ARE YOU HURT?"

Ren chuckled. "It wasn't that bad. Besides, it was an accident."

She bent her head down in shame. How many more problems was she going to cause him? What was it—her millionth time tripping today? Kyoko bit down on her lip and was about to utter another apology, when Ren suddenly lifted her face upwards and murmured, "Don't feel bad. It didn't even hurt."

"You sure?" Kyoko whispered, even though she knew he was lying for her sake.

Ren smiled. "Positive."

Smiling, Kyoko nodded and tentatively took a step back in order to give him some space. Ren unwillingly allowed her to move away, but when his gaze trailed down to her uniform, his eyes nearly bugged out of his head. All the water from earlier had completely soaked through. Not only could he see the droplets of water trailing down her slender neck, but her clothes were suddenly becoming slightly transparent…allowing him to see…

Quickly tearing his eyes away from her chest and feeling the heat rush straight to his cheeks, Ren cleared his throat nervously and said in a strained voice, "Mogami-san, I think you should go take a shower."

"Huh?"

"You're all wet and I don't want you to catch a cold," Ren said quickly as he moved behind her and placed a hand on her back.

"But what about washing the di—?"

"I got them," Ren replied hastily. "Let's get you dried up first."

"Tsuruga-san—"

But without allowing her to finish, he gently—and urgently—pushed her down the hall and led her into the bathroom in his bedroom. Opening the door, Ren swiftly turned on the light and put all the contents that she needed around the tub.

"The shampoo is on the right, the conditioner in the middle, and the body wash is on the left. I'll leave fresh clothes on the chair right outside the bathroom, okay?"

Nodding, Kyoko stammered, "T-t-t-thank you, Ts-s-s-suruga-san."

"I'll be outside."

And with a gentle thud, Ren closed the door shut behind him. When he finally heard the faucet being turned on, Ren leaned against the wall next to the door and slowly slid down until he sat with his head on his knees. Ren could feel his heart pound mercilessly against his chest as his mind began to replay the picture of Kyoko in her wet uniform. The garment clung to her every curve and even exposed some of the delicate skin underneath. Her hair was damp and it stuck to the side of her face in a messy, yet almost alluring manner.

Ren groaned and dug his hands into his hair.

"_You're horrible,"_ he muttered silently to himself as he slowly raised his head in guilt.

And when his eyes landed on his enormous bed, Ren nearly groaned in agony as one of the most tortuous fantasies suddenly flooded his already tormented mind.

Ren sighed heavily. "I'm burning in Hell tonight…"


	8. Lying Awake

Hi hi! So here is the next chapter for my story and once again, I hope you all enjoy it. This one was actually pretty difficult to write since it's something I haven't tried before. But nonetheless, I had fun writing it. Thanks again for all the reviews and feedback. They're really helpful! :D

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat or any of its characters.**

* * *

The water gently ran down Kyoko's slender body as she raised her face to the large shower head. She carefully began to work the lavender shampoo into her orange hair, making sure to keep her eyes closed. Without the blindfold on, Kyoko was quite paranoid that she might open her eyes on accident; so squeezing her eyes tightly together, Kyoko pretended as if someone had super-glued them shut.

Kyoko sighed heavily. Once left to her own thoughts, Kyoko naturally began to reprimand herself for the idiotic mistake she made earlier in the kitchen. She had never been so clumsy in her life—or so hazardous. And the fact that he acted really odd afterward only proved the point that she must have frustrated him. Kyoko didn't know what to do. She wanted to apologize, but she was just too humiliated to say anything.

Ren had been wonderful to her to all day. He went out of his way so much for her well-being and in the end, how did she repay him? With bruises from her pointy knees and elbows. Kyoko let out a large puff of steamy air. There was no way this day could get any worse.

"_He must regret volunteering for this assignment,"_ she thought with a grimace.

Kyoko would be surprised if he wasn't. He probably thought he was biting off more than he could chew which was true. Kyoko knew that she was a lot to handle and no matter how hard she tried to look at it, even she could tell that she was causing more damage than good.

Kyoko had never been in this kind of situation before in her life. She never had to rely on anyone for anything. She always did things on her own and liked it that way. It was hard enough to be told that she needed a partner from President Lory, but now that she had become a burden to the one person she respected more than anyone else was just the icing on the cake. Kyoko felt miserable.

Shaking her head in despair, Kyoko allowed herself to just drown in her sorrow as the hot water continued to rain on her tender back. Still, even though the soothing shower didn't erase the gloom she felt, at least it made her feel slightly better. And by the time she had finished, Kyoko quietly shut off the shower head and gingerly stepped onto a fluffy towel upon the floor, feeling a bit re-vamped.

Finding her way to the towel rack on the right side, Kyoko managed to wrap a towel around her body in a secure knot. Then, she ran her hands over the marble sink and found the blindfold she left next to the faucet. Carefully, she tied the black cloth around her eyes once more and made sure that it was just as tight as before. Once satisfied, Kyoko eventually made her way to the door and stood before it with her hand frozen on the knob.

She was scared that he would be waiting outside. She didn't know how to face him. A part of her wanted to apologize, but the larger part just wanted to hide away forever. Kyoko sighed. Why couldn't she be more normal? Then maybe none of this would have happened.

Very quietly and fearfully, Kyoko opened the bathroom door just a crack and whispered, "Tsuruga-san?"

No response.

She let out a sigh of relief. He must be in the kitchen cleaning up what was left of dinner. And in an instant, she felt guilty for once again letting him do everything while she just "relaxed." Kyoko ran a hand through her damp hair and groaned. And right then, she vowed not to let him do anything else for her the whole night if it was the last thing she'll ever do. Kyoko wasn't going to be a burden anymore and that was final.

Remembering what he said about fresh clothes, she knelt down on all fours and tentatively opened the door just a bit wider so that she could stick her slender arm through. She moved her arm around quite a bit until she touched one of the chair legs and began to make her way up. And just as he said, there was a set of clothes neatly placed upon the seat. Pulling the items through the little opening, Kyoko quietly shut the door and swiftly took off the towel.

The first item she held in her hands seemed to be a pair of shorts. Although she couldn't see what it looked like, Kyoko could tell that it hit her mid-calf when placed against her body. Kyoko smiled. She never noticed just how tall her mentor was. But when she put on the pair of shorts, she realized that the waist band didn't fit her. In fact, it was practically slipping off of her body.

"_Great,"_ Kyoko thought with a scowl. _"Just great."_

Deciding to ditch the pants for now, Kyoko picked up the shirt and realized that it was a button-down long sleeve shirt. After putting on her tank top and slipping her hands through the long sleeves, Kyoko could feel that the shirt actually covered her bottom. It was pretty long. Satisfied with its length, Kyoko began to button up the shirt and fumbled around with it for a while before she finally managed to fully close it up.

When she tried on the shorts again, Kyoko realized with a grimace that it would be impossible to wear them. What was the point of putting them on when they didn't even fit? Kyoko sighed heavily as she turned her body toward what she knew was the mirror. She knew that the shirt covered everything and that she was wearing a pair of underwear shorts underneath, but Kyoko felt sort of…naked.

She bit on her lower lip in nervousness. This wasn't good. Kyoko didn't want to walk out like this, but at the same time she didn't want to bother him by asking for another pair of shorts to wear. It's not like he'll have one in her size. She was wearing his clothes after all.

Making up her mind, Kyoko inhaled deeply and forced herself to hold her head up high as she gave the doorknob a quick turn. When the bathroom door quietly swung open, she could immediately feel the crisp, cool air from the bedroom hit her like a tidal wave, but thankfully his shirt was pretty thick so it wasn't too cold. And as soon as she stepped onto the carpet, Kyoko nearly had a heart attack when she suddenly heard a deep voice ask,

"Done already?"

Startled, Kyoko jumped in surprise and answered hastily, "Yes!"

Ren laughed as he casually stood by the doorway with a set of thick blankets draped over his arm. "I'm sorry, Mogami-san. I didn't mean to scare you," he said with a sheepish smile.

"No! No! It's okay," Kyoko mumbled nervously as she held both of her hands tightly together. She had no idea why, but her heart was suddenly pounding so hard against her chest that it was almost painful to bear.

_"What's wrong with me?"_ she thought in panic.

Ren, however didn't notice. In fact, upon entering the room, he was just about to ask her if she needed anything else when his eyes were quickly pulled to her slender body. The first thing that he noticed was that Kyoko looked extremely cute wearing his long-sleeve shirt. And the fact that she didn't put on his shorts surprised him even more. Sure, the shirt was long enough, but it still left her slender legs bare.

But the one thing that really caught his attention was the lining of the buttons on his shirt. They were all mismatched. There was probably only one button that was looped through the proper hole. Smiling widely in amusement, Ren placed the thick blankets on top of his bed and walked over to his trembling pupil.

"Mogami-san, do you mind if I help you a little bit?"

"With what?" Kyoko asked, taken-aback by the random question.

Ren smiled. "The buttons. They aren't exactly lined up."

"Really?" Kyoko replied as she instinctively looked down at herself.

"Yes, but it's okay. You got most of them," Ren lied as he gently raised a hand and placed it upon her arm. "Do you mind?"

Feeling her heart throb in her chest, Kyoko couldn't find the voice to say anything. He wasn't holding her or anything, but his body was so close to hers. She lowered her head just a bit and suddenly felt her head nod. Even though her mind was telling her to step away and refuse his aid, it was like her body wouldn't listen. Kyoko was torn.

Then without any warning, Kyoko felt both of his hands at the front of her shirt. Kyoko stopped breathing as she sensed his fingers working nimbly at the buttons, slowly unbuttoning each and every one of them. She had no idea whether his movements were deliberately slow or not, but it felt as if time came to a screeching halt and all she could focus on were his moving hands.

No words were exchanged as his motions moved downward. Even though Kyoko knew she still had her tank top underneath, she couldn't stop the blush from forming on her cheeks when she realized that her mentor was undressing her. Biting down on her tongue, Kyoko forced her body to remain still. She couldn't let him see her tremble. She couldn't let him hear her thumping heart. She couldn't let him realize how much he was affecting her.

Ren, on the other hand, was dying of torture. His hands shook like leaves and it took him three times longer than usual just to remove one button. He hoped with all his might that Kyoko didn't notice. And thankfully, she didn't seem fazed at all. It was almost as if she was completely oblivious to everything.

When he unhooked the final button, he removed his hands for a split second and caught a glimpse of what she was wearing underneath—both top and bottom. Feeling his blood boil, Ren quickly averted his gaze from the thin undergarments and stared intently at the top of the shirt, re-buttoning everything starting from the third one. Remaining silent, he calmly continued his work as he forced his eyes to stay transfixed on the task at hand. Ren refused to think about anything else except for the buttons. Not Kyoko…not her body…not her shallow breaths…not the sweet scent of her skin…not—

"Tsuruga-san?"

Shaken awake from his lustful daydream, Ren blinked a couple of times until he suddenly realized that his hands fell still at the final button. Quickly looping it through, Ren took a step back and chuckled shakily. "All done."

Nimbly running her hands down the straight path, Kyoko smiled tentatively and whispered, "Thank you, Tsuruga-san."

"You're welcome."

And wanting to ease his excited heart into a slower pace, Ren figured it was best to walk over to his large bed and neatly lay out the blankets since he was in desperate need for a distraction. Staring at his half-dressed pupil was already driving him crazy. Being next to her might just topple him over the edge. Kyoko, however, simply stayed where she was, listening intently to his movements.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she managed to ask curiously, "What are you doing?"

"I'm just fixing up the bed really quick," Ren answered in what he hoped was a steady voice as he held a corner of the blanket in each of his hands and threw it upwards, causing it to fall smoothly across the silky bed sheets.

"You don't have to do that, Tsuruga-san," Kyoko said, walking towards the bed and standing at the foot of it. "It's fine the way it is."

Ren laughed. "It would probably be hard for you to fall asleep tonight since it's not your bed. I want to make it as comfortable as possible."

Kyoko shyly smiled. What he said was true. Tonight would probably be a sleepless night for her, but it wasn't because the bed wasn't hers. No, it was the person she would be sharing the bed WITH that would make her stay up all night. Feeling her heart pound faster just at the thought of it, Kyoko quickly lowered her head, not wanting to give away her feelings that were spelled out on her face.

After a bit more rustling, everything fell silent as Ren asked quietly, "Are you alright, Mogami-san?"From Ren's point of view, Kyoko looked like she was deep in thought since he noticed how she was nervously nibbling on her lower lip.

She nodded.

Not buying it, Ren approached her until they stood face and face. "Are you sure?"

Kyoko raised her head. "I'm okay. Just…tired," she murmured.

"Then do you want to rest for a bit?"

Thinking that it was probably the best thing to do, Kyoko nodded as she felt Ren gently grab her hand.

"Here, I'll help you."

And very tenderly, he led her towards the right side of the bed and seated her down. Ren naturally knelt on his knees and took a good look at her face. He knew Kyoko had a tendency to mask her feelings so the best way of knowing how she truly felt was by looking at her straight on. Of course, it didn't help the fact that he couldn't look into her eyes, but all in all, it appeared that she was fine.

Content, Ren smiled and said, "I'll go outside and grab a few more pillows. Why don't you sit here and rest? Then maybe we can listen to music or something."

Kyoko laughed softly. "What kind of music?"

"Anything you like," Ren answered as he brushed a strand of hair from the side of her face.

Feeling her heart react to such a simple touch, Kyoko looked down at her feet and nodded. Then in one swift movement, she felt Ren fluidly stand up and walk out the door as she listened to his soft footsteps fade down the hall.

Kyoko sighed and slowly lowered herself down onto the pillow. Maybe she really did need a break. And relaxing on his bed literally felt like she was lying on a cloud. Everything was molded to her tiny figure and she naturally dug her face into the smooth pillow, feeling her body unwind on its own. When she took in a deep breath, Kyoko was suddenly hit with a familiar scent that made a small smile curve at her lips. It was oddly comforting, as if it acted as some sign that everything will be okay.

She breathed in deeply again and allowed her mind to wander. And eventually, she could feel her hands becoming more and more flaccid as her conscious gradually ebbed away. Even though she knew that it was early, Kyoko didn't have the strength to fight the heavy blanket of sleep that was draping over her. Kyoko was aware that Ren would be waiting, but she felt so comfortable. She didn't mind going to sleep now. In fact, Kyoko suddenly had a fleeting desire to remain in his bed forever and ever. She didn't want to leave.

And with one last tiny sigh, Kyoko peacefully drifted away…

* * *

"_This is nice,"_ Kyoko thought serenely as she snuggled closer to the soft texture underneath her. She was lying flat on her stomach with each of her hands placed at both sides of her face which was comfortably turned to the side. Kyoko had no idea what time it was. Her sleepiness was still heavy on her eyelids, but she always had a tendency to wake up at night just to check the time. This night however, Kyoko didn't care. Years could have passed by and she wouldn't gave given time another thought. She was just too comfortable to care.

Sighing softly, Kyoko slightly turned her face downwards to fall back asleep until she suddenly felt a tiny movement.

Kyoko froze. Like an electric shock, her body became fully alert as all of her senses came back to her in a snap when she remembered what was going on. She still had the blindfold on. She was completing an assignment for President Lory. But when she was about to raise her head, Kyoko suddenly remembered that she was in bed…and she wasn't alone.

Breathing in nervously, Kyoko realized that she was currently sharing a bed with her mentor. And when her body naturally began to shift position, she unexpectedly discovered that something was different. The texture underneath her wasn't the bed sheets. Kyoko noticed that she wasn't lying on top of the mattress anymore. In fact, it almost seemed as if the bed was moving. Tentatively, she moved her fingers and recognized the feeling of fabric below her. Then like a full on-collision, Kyoko realized with a pang where she was.

She was lying on top of her mentor's chest…

"_OH MY GOD!"_

Feeling as if her heart was viciously ripped out of her, Kyoko had every intention of rolling off his body, until she felt something trailing down her spine. It was slow and gentle like a caressing wind that blew across her sensitive skin. The feeling was lighter than a feather, but surprisingly sent little shivers down her spine. Without any self control, Kyoko sighed contently and felt her body completely shut down. His slender fingers were moving up and down her back.

"You're cute when you're asleep," a gentle voice whispered in the dark.

Kyoko gasped internally. _He was awake!_

But when she was just about to open her mouth and apologize, he suddenly chuckled softly and said, "You'd probably kill me if you knew I was watching."

"_What?"_ Kyoko thought confusedly.

Then without any notice whatsoever, she felt his arms wrap around her and press her body against his. He sighed.

"I wonder if you're comfortable," he murmured quietly.

Kyoko didn't get it. He was somewhat asking her questions, but at the same time, he wasn't giving her anytime to answer. Was he even talking to her? And on top of that, he was hugging her so closely! Kyoko could even feel her skin heat up instantaneously, but she didn't have the strength to move at all. Kyoko just didn't have the will to push his warm, strong arms away.

Ren chuckled. "If I knew you were going to move around so much, I would have given you the entire bed."

She froze with shock. Kyoko completely forgot that she was a thrasher in her sleep! Sometimes at home, she would find herself in the most awkward positions in the morning without any recollection of how she got there in the first place. Kyoko knew that she moved around a lot, but not to this extent!

Instantly, Kyoko understood what must have happened. Sometime during the night, she must have crawled her way onto his body and stayed there. Humiliated and deeply distraught, she was about to quickly remove her weight from his broad chest when his arms suddenly tightened around her.

"But I don't mind," he said softly. "You're really warm."

Kyoko blushed profusely. It all started to make sense now. Ren was talking to her, thinking that she was completely asleep. Kyoko wanted to laugh, but she was too amused with what was going on to make a single noise. He had no clue whatsoever that she was listening to his every word.

Ren shuffled his body around just a bit and when Kyoko naturally began to mimic his movements, he quickly stopped and held her still.

"Sorry," he whispered automatically.

She smiled. He was so polite. If he thought she was asleep, why was he even apologizing to her? It's not like he expected her to hear it anyway.

Kyoko sighed silently. He probably couldn't sleep because she was heavy and was using him as her own personal bed. But even though she was sure that he wasn't comfortable, she realized that he was too much of a gentleman to disturb her slumber and let her move. Ren was putting the importance of her rest over his.

Hating his undeniably good-nature, Kyoko decided to take in tiny breaths instead of large ones so that maybe the weight of her body wouldn't create such an impact on his. So deciding to remain where she was, Kyoko allowed herself to relax just a bit as she listened to the quiet beating of his heart that sounded like a gentle drumming in her ears. Meanwhile, her bare legs were comfortably intertwined with his and she could feel the rising and falling of his muscular chest underneath her. Kyoko inhaled deeply and recognized the minty scent again, smiling tenderly to herself. He completely overwhelmed her senses.

Ren's fingers delicately began to move down her spine once more, creating rhythmic movements that sent butterflies all through her stomach. He sighed and continued the motions as Kyoko was starting to get sleepier. But even though he was touching her and her heart was beating sporadically with every touch, she felt at ease knowing that he was there. It was like his movements were his way of saying that she wasn't alone.

But when Kyoko was beginning to drift asleep again, she suddenly heard—

"What am I doing?"

Kyoko woke with a start. His tone of voice changed. It didn't have the teasing sound anymore, but rather as if he was speaking of something serious. She moved her head towards his voice.

"I shouldn't be doing this."

Ren stopped and placed his hand on her slim back.

"This isn't right."

Immediately, Kyoko felt as if someone had punched her in the gut. He regretted being here. He regretted helping her in the first place. Of course she didn't blame him, but it was still hard to hear. Ren was someone she naturally went to for help, and to know that he didn't want to help her hurt her more than she thought. Kyoko had never felt so useless. Wanting to withdraw from his tender touch, Kyoko was going to force herself to move away when he suddenly brushed her cheek with the back of his cool hand.

"If you knew what I was feeling, you wouldn't be here right now."

Kyoko fell still.

"If you knew what was in my heart, you would probably push me away."

She didn't understand.

"I don't deserve you."

Kyoko's head was spinning. Everything he said was catching her off guard. They didn't make any sense. What he was talking about?"

"Kyoko," he breathed to the silent darkness.

She stopped breathing.

"_He said my name…"_

"How do you feel about me?" he asked in a gentle whisper.

Kyoko eyes widened in surprise.

"How do you see me?"

He laughed sadly.

"Do you even see me at all?" he murmured.

Kyoko hadn't a clue why everything in her body wanted to scream yes. She didn't understand why she felt a dark gloom just drape over as her as if it could never be removed. It was almost like his sadness was seeping right into her. His sincere words rang in her ears like sad chimes that slowly faded away, but ripped a tiny hole inside her every time it sounded. She wanted to make him feel better. She wanted to take the pain away…all of it.

Ren pressed his cheek against her soft hair and breathed in deeply. "I don't know why you have such a hold over me. I don't know why you can affect me so deeply. I don't know why you're so important to me."

Kyoko unconsciously moved her hand over his heart and could feel it throb underneath her palm. He was nervous.

"But I do know one thing," Ren whispered against her hair.

Kyoko turned her head so that she could hear his voice more clearly. She wanted to hear every sound he made and every word he murmured. She wanted to hear all of it.

Ren sighed.

"I love you, Kyoko."

And with the air knocked right out of her, Kyoko felt her heart come to a complete halt as his words reverberated within her ears.

She felt completely numb, as if she had lost all use of her limbs. Her body turned limp while everything inside her was bursting into hot, white flames. Kyoko couldn't believe it at all. How could he love her? How could a man like him love someone like her?

Kyoko didn't know what to do. She wanted to respond, but at the same time, she didn't know what to say. It was too good to be true. His words were too caring to be true. Kyoko could tell that he spoke honestly, but she couldn't believe it. It had to be dream. That was the only logical explanation.

She was broken. Kyoko wasn't capable of loving anymore. Her heart had turned to stone and there wasn't anyone or anything that could save her. But even though Ren knew that, even though he knew she was used, he still cared. Ren was the one person in her life who never abandoned her. Kyoko was aware of the fact that he deserved someone better than her. He shouldn't be the person having to hold her up when she could never give him anything back in return.

Ren was too good to her. He shouldn't be forced to bear the weight of putting her back together again. It wasn't his job to be so comforting to her. But Kyoko also knew that she was being the selfish one by never wanting to let him go. She could have always easily pushed him away and refused his tender gaze, but Kyoko couldn't find the strength to. She wanted him here. And no matter how many times she said she wanted to be alone, that she didn't need anyone, Kyoko would always need Ren. And to know that he loved her…

Then from out of the blue, she felt a soft, warm pressure on her forehead and realized that he had tenderly kissed her. She froze.

"Still, it doesn't matter if I love you, does it?"

Ren chuckled sadly.

"Because you will never love me."

He moved his head from side to side.

"But I don't care. As long as you're here, that's enough for me."

His arms tightened around her.

"Your existence is all I need."

Then in a deep breath, his arms gradually loosened around her as he whispered,

"If only you were awake…"

And with one last sigh, Ren slowly drifted to sleep while holding a curled Kyoko in his arms. But unbeknownst to his aching soul, Kyoko remained awake as she silently cried with a hardened heart that seemed to crumble away with every shaky breath she took…


	9. Heart to Heart

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! I hope everyone had a great holiday filled with laughter and joy. But even with all that cheer, I managed to write the next chapter for my story. Firstly though, I want to thank you all for the reviews for the previous chapter. I greatly appreciate them. Your comments really brightened up my day. And so, I hope you will enjoy this one too! Please Review :D

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat or any of its characters.**

* * *

Kyoko had no idea when she had finally fallen asleep. It seemed as if she had lost all recollection of time and remained in a state of limbo during the whole night. But by now, Kyoko's conscious was slowly returning from what seemed like an eternal slumber. She moved her head around a little bit and felt the smooth silk pillow rub across her cheek.

She sighed and turned around so that her body would face upwards with her arms stretched out and palms open. Even with the blindfold on, Kyoko could tell that it was morning. She could sense the sunshine lighting the bedroom in a hazy yellow glow, signaling the start of another day. But as Kyoko was beginning to regain consciousness, she instantly felt something odd about herself.

Clutching her chest, Kyoko could feel her heart beat in a manner she didn't recognize. It was almost as if every thump sent a warm shock throughout her body, something she never experienced before in her life. Kyoko inhaled deeply, feeling her heart throb. And very slowly, last night's events flooded through her memories, causing a dark blush to cover her pale cheeks.

Remembering where she was, Kyoko tentatively turned to the side and looked at what she believed to be his sleeping figure. She figured she must have rolled off of him sometime during the night since she was now lying properly upon the bed. And as she remained in that position—fully awake by now—Kyoko could hear his deep words from last night sound in her ears as if it was some sort of faraway dream.

But even if it was a dream, Kyoko realized that she woke up from it feeling differently. She didn't even seem like herself anymore. Everything was suddenly turned upside down. Still, Kyoko didn't mind. In fact, she felt as if she was walking on air. The quick turn of events was just too good to be true, but Kyoko had a fleeting hope that even if it was a dream, she would want to remember the memory forever.

Biting on her lower lip, Kyoko tentatively raised an arm and reached out for his familiar, warm skin. She needed to touch him, to know that last night really wasn't her imagination. However, when she fully extended her arm, her hand fell upon nothing but silk sheets. There was nothing—or rather no one—beside her.

Feeling her heart give a painful lurch, Kyoko immediately sat upright and placed her hand over the place beside her. It wasn't warm at all. In fact, it was undeniably cold, as if no one was there in the first place. Kyoko withdrew her empty hand and twisted her head around, this way and that. There wasn't anyone in the room, but her. Kyoko was all alone. Placing her hands into her lap, Kyoko shook her head and could feel her heart on the verge of breaking until she heard—

"Good morning."

Kyoko raised her head in surprise.

"Tsuruga-san?"

He chuckled. "I'm sorry I didn't wake you. You seemed so deeply asleep that I couldn't muster up the courage to disturb you."

Feeling her heart swell with relief, Kyoko shook her head and smiled. "No, it's okay."

_"He's here,"_ she thought with a quiet sigh.

But hiding her happiness, Kyoko gave her head a quick shake and asked timidly, "Did you sleep well last night?"

"Yes," Ren replied as he entered the bedroom. "Did you?"

Kyoko lowered her head and blushed. "More or less."

"What do you mean?" he asked curiously as he set something sturdy upon the bedside table.

But ignoring his question, Kyoko lifted her head again and arched an eyebrow in curiosity. "What was that?"

Ren smiled. "Well, since I woke up early, I thought I would try to make breakfast."

"Breakfast?" Kyoko repeated in quiet astonishment. "You made breakfast?"

"Yes, but I'll apologize beforehand that it might not taste very good. Last night's dinner was more of a lucky shot than proof of my excellent cooking which you probably know is non-existent."

But before Kyoko could say a single word, he placed what seemed to be a miniature table at the end of her feet. Kyoko instinctively turned her head to the mysterious movement as he asked cheerfully, "What do you say to breakfast in bed?"

Kyoko laughed softly. "You're too thoughtful, Tsuruga-san."

He smiled and sat beside her. "I think you give me too much credit."

"I think I don't give you enough," she murmured in a barely audible whisper.

Ren faltered. In just a quick snap, her tone of voice had completely lost its teasing sound. She had even lowered her head—in embarrassment—and refused to face him directly. Very confused, he swiftly placed a slender finger under her chin and raised her face to his. "Is something wrong?" he asked gently.

Kyoko remained still and stared at what she knew was his face. She could guess that if she was able to see, his eyebrows would be furrowed and his eyes would be filled with concern. He would continue to stare at her until she gave in and most likely Kyoko would cave, especially when it came to him. If only she didn't have the blindfold on, then maybe—

"_At precisely 9:20, you will start and continue as you are until 9:20 of tomorrow morning..."_

"…_of tomorrow morning…"_

"…_of tomorrow morning…"_

Kyoko froze as President Lory's words played in her mind like a broken record player.

"Mogami-san?" Ren asked worriedly. "What's wrong?"

She swallowed the lump in her throat and asked quietly, "What time is it…Tsuruga-san?"

Taken-aback, Ren turned to the black clock on the bedside drawer and read, "It's 9:23. Why?"

Kyoko shook her head with a tiny smile at the corner of her lips. She completely lost track of time. She was so focused on the whirlpool of emotions swirling inside of her that she completely forgot the whole purpose as to why she was staying at his condo in the first place.

"I'm done, Tsuruga-san," she replied softly. "The assignment...it's done."

Ren blinked a few times in surprise. He couldn't believe it. A full day with her was gone. He had spent the last 24 hours with her, but now, in just a blink of an eye, everything was over. Ren had finished what he had set out to do. Still, even though he was happy that she succeeded in accomplishing her goal, he could feel a gloom beginning to solidify inside of him when he realized that he would never get the chance to be with her like this again. Ever since the start of this task, Kyoko was with him all the time. She was always around wherever he turned and that was the most comforting fact he ever had. But to let her go now nearly seemed impossible. It practically felt as if he wouldn't have the strength to.

But quickly shaking his head, Ren forced a smile and said, "Congratulations, Mogami-san. You did it."

Kyoko smiled. "With your help, of course."

Ren chuckled and was about to reply until she suddenly murmured softly,

"Tsuruga-san, may I ask you to do one more thing for me?"

Surprised by her inquiry, Ren nodded and said, "Of course, Mogami-san. How can I help?"

"Can you remove the blindfold?"

Even though her comment was simple enough, Ren had no idea why her words lit his heart on fire. She was acting completely different from what he was used to. Compared to yesterday, Ren knew that Kyoko would refuse any form of help, but now, she was openly asking for it. He didn't understand at all what could have changed. Slightly worried, Ren cleared his throat and murmured in a shaky voice, "Sure, I can do that."

And with unstable hands, Ren circled her head with both of his arms and began to work on the knot. She remained completely still, focusing on the presence of his strong arms around her. Kyoko inconspicuously breathed in deeply and was hit with the same scent from last night. Kyoko's heart throbbed.

"_Last night really did happen, didn't it?"_

She raised her head just a bit and smiled tenderly to herself as she felt the knot loosen significantly.

"Got it," Ren mumbled as it became completely undone. And with one fluid tug, Ren leaned back and grasped the black cloth in his hands.

Once the blindfold was undone, Kyoko realized that her eyes were naturally squeezed shut, but even with them closed, she could tell that the room was bright. Sighing softly, Kyoko fully raised her head and slowly opened her eyes. At first, it was painful since all she could see were bright spots of colors that seemed to attack her from all sides. But suddenly, a dark shadow loomed over as she realized that Ren had covered her from the sunlight.

Smiling in gratitude, Kyoko opened her eyes with more determination and felt her heart come to a complete stop when her vision became more and more focused. Eventually, she found herself staring back into a familiar face. Her eyes instantly widened in shock as she took in every contour of his gentle expression. Even though she was aware that he hadn't changed at all—that he was still the Ren she always knew—Kyoko could tell that something was different.

As she helplessly stared back into his warm, brown eyes, Kyoko could feel her heart slowly begin to beat again. And when her eyes trailed down to his lips, her body instantly burned hot as everything inside her burst into flames. He continued to stare at her with such a tender gaze and smile that her hands suddenly began to tremble involuntarily. Kyoko didn't realize how much she missed seeing him. How painful it was not to see his expression that she took for granted in the past. Kyoko loved looking at him because of the way he looked back at her…as if she was the only person in the world who existed.

Fluidly, Kyoko easily brought herself to her knees until she slightly towered over his sitting figure. He stared up at her with wide eyes as he watched her raise both of her hands and tenderly cup his face. Ren froze.

And remembering the tender words he murmured to her sleeping figure last night, Kyoko smiled and whispered softly, "I see you."

He stared back with wide eyes.

"I've always seen you."

Ren sucked in a sharp breath as she lowered her cool forehead against his and shook her head.

"How could you think that I don't?"

He completely lost the ability to speak. Ren felt as if everything came to a screeching halt as he drowned in her amber eyes that seemed to penetrate the depths of his very soul.

"_What's going on?"_ he thought in shock.

She laughed gently. "Someone who has always been there for me. Someone who has always reached out a hand when I thought everyone in this world had turned their back on me. Someone who cared for me unconditionally and never asked for anything in return. How could I not see you?"

She sighed as she watched his body freeze from her touch. Ren was completely paralyzed from head to toe. He couldn't comprehend what was going on at all. Kyoko was holding him. She was whispering tender words that he thought only his dreams could conjure up. But even though he was trying to wake himself up, Ren couldn't deny the warmth of her hands on his face. The smell of her skin and the texture of her silky hair were too realistic to be an illusion.

"You're the one who deserves better," she murmured as she closed her eyes. "I'm the one who doesn't deserve you."

Ren placed a hand against her cheek as he watched her slowly open her eyes. He moved his head from side to side in disbelief and whispered, "Where is this coming from?"

Kyoko smiled. Ren blinked in surprise as she gently grasped his hand upon her face and placed it over her chest. Never breaking eye contact, Kyoko pressed her hand against his and replied quietly, "From here."

He could feel the steady beating of her heart that pulsed underneath his fingertips. The warmth of her skin seeped through the thick fabric as he felt his heart throb at her tender touch. Her hand was light upon his, not applying a single amount of pressure as if she was giving him the space she thought he needed. Eventually, his heartbeat began to match hers, a rhythm that they shared together.

She lowered herself down upon her calves until she looked at him face to face. Kyoko had no idea where this confidence was coming from. Never in a million years did she think she would be so comfortable around him. Her actions even surprised herself. But sitting there, feeling his skin, and seeing his blatantly shocked expression, Kyoko knew that this was right.

She wanted to say those words. She wanted to let him know exactly how she felt. There wasn't anything holding her back anymore. The stone-cold heart that lived inside her for so long had cracked. She was no longer empty, but instead filled with an overwhelming appreciation for the man in front of her. How could she deny such strong feelings when it seemed like she was going to explode if she didn't voice them? Ren needed to know. He deserved to know everything.

And with a tender smile that completely knocked him senseless, Ren watched her eyes glisten as she murmured in a gentle whisper, "I love you."

Ren faltered.

"I love you more than I've ever loved anyone."

She laced her fingers through the hand he had over her beating heart.

"You're everything to me."

Ren waited for what felt like an eternity. He expected his vision to blur in any minute and watch everything crumble in front of him as reality decided to end its cruel joke, but none of that happened. All Ren could see was a fire burn deep in her eyes as she unwaveringly stared back at him. He felt her hand within his and how she unconsciously squeezed his own in reassurance as if trying to prove that everything she said was real.

Regaining his strength, Ren brought his other hand to her face and caressed her cheek. "You love me?" he whispered incredulously.

Kyoko laughed, creating a tinkling sound that nearly tore his heart in two. She nodded and smiled tenderly. "I do."

Releasing her hand, he placed both of his upon each side of her face and pulled her closer to him. Instead of watching her expression change to terror, he could see a deep flush upon her cheeks as she willingly moved towards him until they were barely an inch apart.

And without the slightest hint of hesitation, he pressed his lips against hers.

Kyoko didn't move away. She didn't even flinch. Instead, she wrapped both of her arms around his neck and allowed him to pull her body towards him. The kiss was slow and gentle, leaving her with butterflies fluttering throughout her stomach. And when her lips parted, she could taste the sweetness of his mouth and the smooth texture of his moving lips. Unwillingly, Kyoko let out a soft moan as he pulled her onto his lap and held her intimately against him.

Ren, on the other hand, was practically drowning in desire. To feel her so close to him was doing wonders on his already hazy mind. He exercised every amount of control he had in order to take it slow, to avoid scaring her, but the way she moved against him and the texture of her lips were tearing every bit of restraint he had to shreds. Her hands were linked behind his neck as his were placed on her slender waist. Ren touched her in places he knew he shouldn't, but he didn't have the strength to let her go. He wanted her. He wanted to hold her like this forever.

But eventually the need for air was getting strong, so unwillingly, Ren loosened his grip around Kyoko's slim waist and allowed her to lean back. Their eyes, however, remained locked on each other as they tried to regain their normal breathing. And with a breathtaking smile, Ren suddenly pulled Kyoko towards him once again until her face comfortably rested in the crook of his neck and her hands were placed upon his chest.

"You're really warm," Kyoko murmured with her lips against his smooth skin.

His arms tightened around her.

"So are you," he replied with a deep chuckle.

She giggled, leaving Ren with a feeling of elation that was coursing through his body. As he held her tiny figure and felt her soft breaths upon his skin, his heart was beginning to swell to such a large extent that he feared it would implode. But when she ran her slender fingers through his silky hair, Ren could feel his body swoon from her touch as he allowed himself to become completely limp against her.

"I must be dreaming," he whispered as he shook his head in denial. "This isn't real."

Kyoko smiled and held him with her thin arms. "And why do you say that?"

Ren raised his head to look at her directly. Her gaze hadn't changed. It was the same tender expression from earlier except this time the blush on her cheeks had faded. He shook his head.

"It's too perfect to be true," he murmured.

"No, it's not," Kyoko said quietly as she closed her eyes. "If it was perfect, I would have realized how I felt sooner."

Ren blinked in confusion, watching her eyes slowly meet his puzzled gaze.

"I've done nothing but hurt you all this time," Kyoko continued in a soft whisper. "I ignored my feelings and to make it worse, I ignored yours. I took everything you gave me for granted and for that, I'm so sorry. I always knew you were important to me, but I was too ignorant to try to find out why. And because of that, I made you suffer."

Then suddenly, without any warning whatsoever, Ren fluidly lifted her face to his and caught her lips in another kiss. She gasped in surprise as she felt his hand slide down her back and press her body against his. And instantly feeling her own body react, Kyoko effortlessly gave in to him as her heart pounded loudly in her chest.

And just as soon as it began, Ren leaned back and pressed another chaste kiss to her red lips before murmuring, "You're wrong."

Kyoko's eyes widened.

"Just to see you smile and to hear you laugh were more than enough for me. I've never suffered, not when you're with me. With you, I feel like the happiest man alive."

Ren brushed a strand of hair from her face and placed his forehead against hers. He smiled tenderly as he watched her close her eyes in contentment. "You're everything to me," he whispered.

And with a tiny sigh, Kyoko allowed her body to relax as she moved her head and placed it upon his broad shoulder. His arms tightened around her while his fingers nimbly moved up and down her spine, causing Kyoko to shiver involuntarily. Chuckling quietly to himself, Ren pressed his cheek against her smooth hair and murmured, "I love you."

Kyoko smiled and snuggled her face into his neck. "I know that well."

Ren chuckled. "You do?" he asked as he felt her body tremble.

She raised her head and nodded. "You told me that already."

He blinked a few times in confusion. Ren was aware of that fact that there were plenty of moments in his dreams where he imagined himself confessing his undying love to her, but the notion that there was a time when he did so out loud seemed nearly impossible. In fact, even now, he wasn't the one who confessed first. She did. So turning his head to the side, Ren raised an eyebrow and asked, "When did I do that?"

Fluidly, she wrapped both of her arms around his neck and pressed her pink lips against his. "Last night," she murmured playfully.

"Last ni—?"

Ren froze.

Kyoko leaned back and smiled widely.

"You're quite the sleep-talker…Ren."


	10. Everything's Changed

Hello everyone and happy 2011! I'm really sorry for such a late update. Things in school have been pretty hectic so time was definitely crunched. Thankfully though, I managed to find some time in writing this chapter and once again, I hope you all enjoy it as much as the others. Thanks for all the great reviews before! And Please review this one! :D

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat or any of its characters.**

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Kyoko walked through LME in a mood that was almost electric. Every person she passed couldn't deny the feeling of joy that she emanated since the smile on her face seemed to be permanent. It was practically an understatement to say that people were surprised. In fact, they couldn't tear their eyes off of her. Many of them—mostly the men—suddenly came to the realization of just how beautiful Kyoko was. The way her lips were curved into a bright smile and the twinkle in her eyes were just too mesmerizing to ignore.

But she didn't pay them the slightest bit of attention. Kyoko had other important things in mind; so in a brisk walk, she quickly made her way to the highest floor in hopes that she wasn't late for the meeting with President Lory. As soon as the elevator door opened to the familiar floor covered with red carpet, Kyoko froze to a standstill when she finally saw a familiar face.

The girl was standing in front of the president's office with her usual stance of having her arms crossed over her chest as if she was angry at someone. Her dark black hair naturally fell over her shoulder and her eyes were glued on the double oak doors.

Kyoko smiled widely as she approached her infuriated-looking friend. Even though it was only for 24 hours, Kyoko had to admit the fact that she missed seeing her face. Yesterday was such a long day, filled with high-strung emotions and unbelievable miracles. But now that she was back at work and seeing familiar people again, Kyoko could finally take a breather and appreciate her somewhat ordinary life.

Once she was about a couple of steps away, Kyoko watched her friend turn her head and look at her with an almost surprised expression. Kyoko stopped right in her tracks as she stared back into her dark eyes. Not understanding why she was so nervous in the first place, Kyoko nibbled on her lower lip and managed to whisper, "Moko-san?"

Kanae continued to stare at her with a blank expression. She didn't move or say anything.

Kyoko, on the other hand, was nearly having a heart attack. Even though she knew that the assignment was over, she suddenly had a fleeting fear that her best friend's temporary state of muteness had strangely become permanent over the course of the previous day. Feeling her heart fall to the pit of her stomach, Kyoko tentatively took a step forward and was going to call out her name again when she saw Kanae shake her head and say—

"You're late."

In an instant, an overwhelming wave of relief washed over her as the beautiful sound of her best friend's voice rang in her ears like bells. Kyoko smiled tearfully and rushed at her with open arms as she wailed, "MOKO-SAN!"

And in one twirl, Kyoko had her arms wrapped around Kanae's neck and squeezed her tightly as if she never wanted to let her go.

"MO! Enough already!" Kanae said irritably, trying to break free from Kyoko's bear-like grip. But she couldn't remove her best friend's embrace even with the jaws of life. Kyoko always became oddly strong when her emotions ran high.

But all in all, Kanae was happy to see her too. Even though she would never say it out loud, Kanae had to admit that she missed seeing her perky face all day yesterday. No matter how annoying Kyoko could get, Kanae truly treasured Kyoko as a friend and was glad to be reunited with her in the end.

Satisfied, Kyoko released her grip slightly and leaned back to stare at Kanae's wonderfully aggravated face. She smiled widely. "I'm so happy to see you!"

Kanae scoffed. "As you should be."

Kyoko laughed and gave her another hug. "I missed this."

"Missed what?" Kanae mumbled as she let her arms hang limply at her sides in defeat.

"Missed you! And hearing your voice again," Kyoko replied with a wide smile.

"I missed hearing her voice too," said another amused voice down the hall.

Instinctively, Kyoko quickly whipped her head towards the familiar sound and felt a huge smile curve at the corner of her lips as she met Chiori's gleeful gaze. She was walking towards them from the other end with both of her hands on her hips as she said, "Or maybe it's just good to hear anything again."

Laughing, Kyoko released Kanae and jumped to Chiori as she gave her friend a big hug. "You can hear!"

Chiori giggled and hugged Kyoko back. "You can see!" she replied in the same joyful voice.

Kanae sighed. "It's good that things are normal again," she added in a voice filled with relief.

Kyoko nodded as Chiori said, "I don't think normal has ever been more appealing to me."

"Was yesterday difficult?" Kyoko asked worriedly.

Kanae shrugged as Chiori replied, "At the beginning, but we got the hang of it."

Kyoko smiled. It was clear that this assignment really brought her two friends closer together. Before, they seemed to be more like mere acquaintances who only met by chance, but now it was entirely different. Just by looking at their stance beside each other, Kyoko could tell that they shared some sort of bond and oddly enough, it made Kyoko extremely happy.

"But you know," Chiori began in a devil-ish tone, "I think we are far more interested in how _your_ day went."

She grinned.

Kyoko blushed profusely and lowered her head as she mumbled, "It's a long story."

"We have time," Kanae answered simply as she leaned against the wall behind her. "That's not an issue."

Kyoko raised her gaze and saw both of her friends staring intently at her face. Chiori was practically beaming in anticipation while Kanae looked at her with an intensity that nearly burned her eyes out. It was kind of scary. Kyoko laughed nervously and ran a hand through her hair.

"Well, I really don't know where to start," Kyoko replied.

"Then how about in here?"

All three girls turned around and saw President Lory standing next to the open oak doors. He had a giant smile of welcome plastered upon his face as he watched their eyes widen in surprise. Gesturing his hand towards his office, he said, "I can't wait to hear all about your day, each and every one of you."

Caught by surprise, all three LoveMe members bowed politely and slowly made their way into the large office. They took their usual seat on the red, plushy couch as the president sat cross from them on his own throne-like chair. He crossed his legs and leaned back with the same grin on his face. He cleared his throat.

"Well, it seems you all completed the task successfully. I must say I'm proud."

They nodded in gratitude.

"But I have to admit I am much more curious about your experiences than just the completion of the assignment. Tell me what you thought about it now that the task is over."

The girls looked at each other, asking silently who should begin. At first, no one said a word, but suddenly, Kanae sighed heavily and leaned forward.

"It would be a lie if I said this assignment was easy," she said in a slightly irritated voice. "Frustration seemed to be the only emotion I felt during the whole day. I thought it was nearly impossible to do."

She moved her head from side to side, almost in wariness. Then, in a blink of an eye, Kanae's expression changed dramatically. It suddenly became softer as she met the president's surprised gaze and gave him a serene smile. Shaking her head in what seemed to be disbelief, she said, "But not being able to speak taught me something important."

"Oh?" President Lory said in curiosity. "And what might that be, Kotonami-san?"

She looked at him directly. "That it's okay to rely on others. That I don't necessarily have to do everything alone. That receiving help is nothing to be ashamed about."

He chuckled and uncrossed his legs. "You got all that just from yesterday?"

Kanae nodded, but quickly averted her gaze. She almost felt like she was admitting defeat by staring into his more-than-pleased face.

"And," Chiori piped in eagerly, "that working with someone makes the task seem that much more fun."

President Lory turned to Chiori with a beaming smile, who was suddenly sitting forward in excitement with her eyes glistening. "Please continue, Amimaya-san," he said in a deep, amused voice.

"I have never been so appreciative of my ears since yesterday. Believe me, I'll treasure hearing forever."

They all laughed.

"But," Choiri said gently, "I found something else quite valuable too."

She turned to Kanae and smiled. "A friend."

Kanae stared back at her, blinking in surprise.

"A really good friend."

Kanae didn't know what to say at all. It's true that she acknowledged Chiori as someone close to her now, especially since yesterday, but to hear her actually say it out loud was nothing short of a shock. But seeing Chiori's serene smile, Kanae couldn't help but smile back at her in return.

President Lory laughed. "It appears that this task did more than I imagined."

All three girls turned their attention back to his gleeful expression.

"But there's one person I haven't heard from yet," he continued slowly as his eyes trailed down the line.

And eventually, President Lory looked at Kyoko out of the corner of his eye, prompting her to speak. She naturally straightened up and placed both of her hands in her lap as she tried to find the words that would explain everything she felt in the last 24 hours. Kyoko looked down at her lap, feeling the words slowly bubble up inside of her.

"By not being able to see, I don't think I have never seen myself more clearly," she murmured softly.

Everyone remained still.

"In such a short time, I learned so much about myself that it's almost kind of scary. I never realized how unaware I've been."

Kyoko raised her head to see their astonished gaze and smiled.

"I feel like I finally found me."

Kanae and Chiori couldn't take their eyes off of Kyoko. Her words didn't make any sense to them at all. They were undeniably vague and spun up more questions than answered any. And even though they wanted her to explain herself more thoroughly, they just didn't have the voice to say anything. The expression Kyoko had on her face had completely caught them off guard. She was practically glowing.

President Lory, on the other hand, didn't seem the least bit surprised or confused. In fact, he stared at Kyoko with an understanding gleam in his eye as he leaned his head into the palm of his hand and said, "Looks like you all benefited from this task."

They nodded.

He smiled widely. "So all those complaints at the start of this assignment, are you willing to take them back?"

Kanae crossed her arms and shook her head defiantly. "It was a ridiculously hard task to begin with."

"And it's not like we didn't suffer," Chiori added haughtily.

The president narrowed his eyes.

"But," Kyoko said with a laugh, "I guess we're glad that we did."

And to the president's surprise, all three girls looked up at him with a smile upon their faces that made his heart swell with emotion. Teary eyed, President Lory nodded and cleared his throat.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that. It appears that you all understood the purpose of the assignment in the end. Once again, I'm very proud."

And intuitively understanding that it was time to go, all three girls stood up from their seat and nodded in farewell to the president. They bowed politely and was about to leave to start their workday when the president suddenly called Kyoko's name.

She turned around. "Yes sir?"

"A quick word please, before you go."

Curious, Kyoko gave a simple wave to her surprised friends and took her seat back on the couch. Once the double oak doors closed, President Lory broke out into a sunny smile and leaned forward. Kyoko blinked in surprise.

"Are you going to make me ask what happened last night or are you just going to inform me of it willingly?" he asked a cheerful voice.

Kyoko shook her head warily, exhaling deeply. "I would assume you know everything, President Lory sir."

He chuckled and replied, "Well, I do have quite a good hunch, but I would much rather hear it from you. After all, I wasn't able to see him at all this morning, so you're my next best hope."

She sighed heavily. "You know what happened."

"I assure you that I can only guess what had happened."

She stared down at the wooden coffee table. "Before I say anything sir, can I ask you something?" Kyoko asked tentatively.

Slightly taken-aback, President Lory sat up straighter and said, "By all means."

"Did you have all of this planned? Everything that happened last night…did you know it was going to happen?"

He chuckled heartily. "I'm not a psychic, Mogami-san. There was no way I could have planned all of it."

Kyoko bit on her lower lip in uncertainty.

"But I did have a feeling that something might happen," he continued as he realized that she was completely unconvinced.

She sighed and shook her head. "You knew all along, didn't you?" she murmured quietly.

"About him, yes. About you, no. You were much harder to figure out, Mogami-san."

Kyoko smiled gently. "I have to agree with that. Even I couldn't figure myself out."

President Lory laughed and fluidly stood up from his chair. He walked over to the large glass window and stared down at the busy streets where he saw cars neatly lined up and people littered on the sidewalks. "Do you love him, Mogami-san?" he asked with his back turned to her.

Kyoko blushed profusely and raised her head a fraction of an inch. She was surprised that he had asked her that flat out. Even though it was common knowledge to know that President Lory had no fear when it came to being forward, to have him challenge her head-on still made her extremely nervous. Kyoko just got her ability to love back so it was difficult for her to voice exactly how she felt outwardly.

But at the same time, as soon as those words left his mouth, the first word that came to her mind was _yes._ It wasn't hard for her to answer that question at all. It was almost accurate to say to that it was intuitive.

So with a new-found confidence, Kyoko raised her gaze and saw that he was now facing her with his eyes burning in anticipation. She nodded.

President Lory chuckled. "Then that's all I need to know."

Standing fluidly, Kyoko clasped her two hands in front of her and gave him a low bow. She raised her head once more and smiled as she said, "Thank you, President Lory sir. For everything."

And with one last nod and smile from the president, she gracefully made her way out of the office and closed the heavy double doors behind her. Kyoko tiredly leaned against the wall, breathing in deeply in order to relax her shoulders. She had no idea why she became so tense. It seemed like her whole body was suddenly tied up into knots. Wanting to relieve the tension in her muscles, she swiveled her arm around her shoulder as she slowly walked towards the elevator.

But just as soon as she reached it, an elevator had already come up before she had even pushed the button. She watched the doors slide open and reveal a tall silhouette of a man who stared back at her with wide eyes. His stance was relaxed as he leaned against the railing while his arms hung leisurely at his sides. But his face said it all: blatant surprise.

Kyoko was about to open her mouth in greeting when his arm shot out from out of nowhere and grabbed her wrist, pulling her slender body to his as the elevator doors closed behind her. Her blushing face was placed over his heart and his arms naturally encircled her. He lowered his head upon her smooth hair.

"I've been looking all over for you."

She smiled with ease. "You found me."

Chuckling, he brought a hand under her chin and raised her face to his. "What are you doing up here?"

"President Lory called for a meeting for all the LoveMe girls. He wanted to discuss the assignment."

Ren narrowed his eyes in suspicion as soon as he heard the president's name. "Just the assignment? That's all he wanted to talk about?"

"Was there suppose to be something else?" Kyoko asked innocently.

Ren shook his head in disbelief and said, "He didn't say a word about us?"

Kyoko felt her heart lurch as butterflies fluttered all through her stomach. Even though he probably didn't mean much by it, Kyoko couldn't help but swoon over the fact that he used the word "us." Just that one word alone made her feel like she was walking on air.

She flushed scarlet. "He did ask one question," she managed to murmur as she tried her best to hide the whirlpool of emotions that were swirling inside her.

"Like what?"

Kyoko closed her eyes and laid her head on his chest. She smiled as she felt his arms tighten around her. "He asked me if I loved you."

Ren turned his head towards her in surprise. He didn't know what to say. A part of him was upset at the fact that President Lory asked her flat out, but the larger part of him longed to hear her answer. Although he heard her say it before, every time the topic was brought up, Ren couldn't deny the obvious fear he felt that somehow she had changed her mind and realized that she never really loved him at all.

So swallowing the heavy lump in his throat, he asked, "How did you—respond?"

Kyoko raised her head. In one fluid motion, she tenderly held his face within her warm hands and stood upon her tip-toes. Pressing a gentle kiss against his lips, she replied, "I love you."

And without another word, Ren kissed her back with every bit of strength he had. Even now, when he could feel her warm body in his arms, Ren couldn't help but think that one day he was going to wake up and realize that this was nothing more but a mere fantasy, a spell that was conjured by his own imagination. Yet tasting the sweet taste of her mouth and hearing the soft sounds from her throat made him realize that he didn't care if it was a dream. If he was ever going to wake up, Ren wouldn't mind. Just being with her right now was more than he ever needed.

And when they finally released each other, Kyoko found herself drowning in his dark brown eyes that seemed to be an endless pool of mystery she wanted to figure out. Everything about him was new and exciting to her, and to know that from then on, she would get to know him better and better made her all the more thrilled. He was no longer just her mentor, but someone she loved with all her heart. Ren was practically her world and to know that he felt the same way made her heart swell with emotion.

As soon as the elevator doors slid open on the first floor, Ren laced his hand through hers and fluidly led her out into the lobby. He looked down at her with the same breath-taking smile he had shown her countless times before, causing Kyoko's breath to catch in her throat. She just couldn't get used to looking at him. But the warmth of his hand oddly made her feel at ease just knowing that they were together.

However, as soon as they were a couple of feet away from the elevator, it seemed like a bright spotlight was suddenly flashed upon the both of them since everyone in the lobby had turned their head in their direction. Kyoko instantly felt her body freeze up as she stared into everyone's shocked expression at their intertwined hands. But before she could even utter a single sound, Ren gave her arm a gentle tug, pulling her attention back to his face.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly.

Kyoko stared helplessly back, not finding the voice to speak. At that moment, she knew her heart was beating sporadically because of the fear of what other people would say. Ren was the most sought-after man in Japan and for him to choose her as a partner over everyone else was nothing short of a miracle. It was an understatement to say that Kyoko was worried about their judgments. But looking into his concerned face, Kyoko slowly came to realize that it didn't really matter to her at all. Even if the universe opposed their feelings for each other, it would never change the fact that she loved him. Ren was just too important for her to let go.

So feeling a smile at the corner of her lips, Kyoko easily nodded and replied, "I'm more than okay."

He chuckled and continued to walk alongside her, gently rubbing small circles in the palm of her hand with his thumb.

But while Kyoko was trying to give herself time to slow her rapid heartbeat, she suddenly felt Ren come to a complete stop as his gaze was instantly directed to something in front of him.

Kyoko quickly followed his gaze and saw no other than Yashiro standing before them with an open jaw and wide eyes that looked like they were bugging out of their sockets. Immediately, she felt her lungs constrict as she clearly watched a giant grin slowly creep upon his changing, gleeful face.

Then in one swift movement that completely caught her off guard, Kyoko felt Ren pull her back to his chest and his smooth hand move across her face until her vision was completely covered.

"You don't have to see this," he whispered huskily into her ear.

And before she could even say a single word, Yashiro's thunderous voice echoed throughout the lobby as he screamed in the utmost delight:

"**YES!"**

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**_**Thank you everyone for reading this story. I'm so happy that many of you took an interest and even enjoyed reading this story as well. I know I had a great time writing the storyline and reading all of your reviews. Thanks again for all the feedback and comments. As always, they were extremely helpful and I truly appreciate the time you took out of your schedule to both read and review. You guys are the greatest! Thank you all!**_**  
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